The Passion Of Racing
by classycontour
Summary: Restarting life through the things you hate could have more value than you think, and happiness can only last for so long. Mistakes, regrets, and pain all over again... Romance also added. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

_Hey, everyone! This is a new story that I'm attempting to write, but I need to know if people like it in order to continue. I'd suggest reading chapter seven of The Reunion first, if you're serious about reading this. It could help you better understand what's going on. Anyways, hope you enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I don't know how many of my 29 OCs are going to be in here, but I own them. So please don't take them. Remember, this is strictly OC._

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**CHAPTER ONE**

South Carolina 1978

Alex looked around him. What started off as a few cars wanting to watch an illegal street race quickly turned into a large mass of gathering fans. The news of tonight's event spread through town, and before he knew it, the Mustang found himself locked into a race he couldn't turn down.

Alex was well known, this side of South Carolina. Won many races, had the attention of everyone, and the earnings of a professional racer. Deep orange with the number 74 on his sides, Alex was tough to beat with his 429 engine.

The car that challenged him tonight had traveled a long distance just for this chance. He wanted more than anything to win against a racer so popular as Alex, especially to achieve victory in the guy's own town. Nothing better than that kind of defeat...

But these races were special. It was Ford versus Chevy, winner takes all.

The crowd's cheers were deafening, and Alex found it hard to concentrate on his surroundings. The heat being generated that night was overwhelming, and his engine was already burning up.

Alex had been pushed to the limit. Never, never could he remember having to race this hard in his life. His abused engine lingered on the verge of complete failure, not to mention that everything else was beginning to have severe problems as well.

But he had to make it... one more race...

Both opponents having two wins tonight, this final one deciding the overall champion. The bragging rights would be more rewarding than the pay he would receive afterwards. Their reputations were at stake here.

And so were lives.

Alex wanted to call off the final race, even offered to split the prize, because he knew he couldn't race under the condition he was in at the moment. He was breaking apart, in complete agony.

The Mustang breathed in deep, trying to control his breath as he rolled towards the starting line for the final time tonight. For everything, this was it. He had made it this far, and he was no quitter.

Coming to a stop next to him, Alex looked over to his right and saw his Chevy rivalry. The silver car wore a sneer, knowing very well that the other racer was in trouble.

Alex sighed and tried to concentrate. He zoned out the crowd's cheers, and in that moment, all he could hear was the sound of his own bellowing engine. There was pain, more than he thought. He winced and once more sighed, trying to relax as he stared at the mile long track in front of him.

"C'mon, you can make it... Just a quarter mile..." Alex told himself, but it was harder than it seemed. He could hear the Chevy's laughter as he tried to focus.

A pretty female car drove past them and to her post. She gave the two racers the signal to warm up their tires, and they did.

Alex slammed on his accelerator as he locked up his brakes. His tires squealing on the asphalt as his tires heated up. The smoke his tires created began to float away in the night's breeze, fading away. He was ready.

The Chevy did the same, and soon the two racers were lined up for a head to head race. Both cars evenly matched.

"Gentlemen, are you ready to race?!" The female car called out to the two. They revved their engines in response, looks of determination etched across their faces. More cheers from everyone, and that was all the racers needed to get their adrenaline flowing.

The silence returned in his mind, and Alex watched in slow motion as the girl dropped the flag.

He quickly took the lead, but it didn't last long.

Disaster struck him as one of his rear tires exploded. Debris and shreds of rubber were sent flying everywhere. The shock made Alex lose control, he couldn't keep steady, and before he knew it he was heading straight for a concrete wall.

He tried hard to correct his steering, but the more he fought the worse it got. His steering wasn't an option, it locked up and jammed on him. In desperation, Alex slammed on the brakes. To his surprise, they were shot. Of no use to him now.

"Ahh what the--"

Alex rammed head on into the wall. The gasps and cries of the fans in the crowd almost enough to over power the sound of crunching metal.

He sat there, this time the silence was for real. There were no more cheers, only murmurs of others all around him. It was then that the Mustang heard the steady hiss of his engine, and could see smoke pouring out from under him through the night, blinding him.

Pain didn't even register to him anymore. He couldn't feel anything, the whole world was beginning to wobble back and forth as he tried to regain focus on things around him. Through the corner of his vision, he could see a car approaching him. It was his teammate.

"Alex! Alex, hold on!" The car arrived by his side, looking over his damage inch by inch. "Alex..." He said, his expression grim.

The Mustang could feel his oil draining from him. It wasn't long before his burnt tires felt the warmth of that oil as it gathered beneath him. "How bad?" He breathed.

His teammate tried to speak, but couldn't find the words as he just stared.

Alex began panting, trying to keep calm, nausea was replaced by weakness. The sound of his hissing engine faded away as he heard something else. Someone laughing.

The Chevy had pulled up next to Alex's teammate, admiring the scene. "You fool! Did you expect to beat me? You're an idiot to believe such a thing!" The silver car chuckled as he looked Alex over. "That's what you get for racing dumb, Chevy will_ always _come out on top."

Alex could see looks of panic on them as their attention averted to something else. The sound of approaching sirens.

"Awe man! Someone called the cops!"

Before Alex knew it, his teammate and the Chevy spun their tires and hauled out of there. No way were they going to get arrested. And suddenly, he had this feeling that he was all alone.

The crowd was also long gone.

Alex was fading, no denying it. There was nothing he could do now as he sat there helpless and vulnerable. The distant engines were now gone, and the sound of sirens were getting louder by the second. But that didn't matter. Because darkness was fading in, and Alex drifted off into unconsciousness.

There was no time for fear.

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What was he doing here? This was ridiculous. He felt fine, ready to go. But the doctors refused to release him, Colby wasn't convinced that his main patient, Brian, was able to be independent.

That pissed him off.

Brian tapped one tire on the ground impatiently as he sat there in his hospital room. Ever since he had became totally aware of his ability to drive, that's all he wanted to do. But he had enough of driving around in circles on the recovery floor, and besides, it was closed this time of night.

The tires underneath him wobbled slightly, they've done that every so often since Brian's been stable after his engine failure day. A drink, he needed a drink. And he about killed Colby when the doctor told him that he'd be staying here another two months for recovery.

"That's not right..." He mumbled as he studied his room for what seemed to be the hundredth time today. There was _nothing_ to do here; no one to talk to, no one to call.

Brian's withdraws for liquor had been mild at the moment. But no telling how bad they'd get over the next two months. That scared the green car, being deprived was not an option.

He'd been active for only a week, and more than restless. Although he got short of breath easily, a side effect of not having done enough in the recovery process. As the doctor said, it'll take two months before he's fully functional and back to normal.

Brian scoffed as he settled down on the floor. That actually hurt. The insides of his engine ached, burning the more he tried to lay down. He perked up immediately, now agitated that his nightly special can of oil was not here to lull away that pain.

He pressed the call button to the nurse's station once. When nobody showed up, Brian resorted to pressing the button repeatedly until he got tired of paging them.

The green car growled and started up his engine. "Damn, that hurt..." It was definitely time for some medicine.

"I guess I could stay a little while longer..." He admitted, reflecting on how he felt now.

Driving down the halls, he peeked into the room to the left of his. He sighed with disappointment. The room was empty, and that eerie silence started to get to him. "I guess Nevinger finally died..." He said softly before moving off down the hall. He'd be getting a new neighbor soon.

Coming to the nurse's station at the front of the lobby, Brian parked there. No one was behind the desk... that was unusual. Nothing to do now but wait until someone came back from what ever pointless task they were doing.

Sitting there, Brian looked around. The waiting room was to his right, a small clinic to his left. But in front of him, the doors of freedom. He could run for it, right now, escape and go back to his wife and friends.

He took another quick glance around the room, no one was here oddly enough.

Brian's wish was about to become reality until someone caught him off guard. "Excuse me, sir, do you have a question?" A female asked.

He sighed and turned around to greet the nurse behind the desk. "Yes, why aren't there more of you working here?"

The nurse's concerned expression faded and now she wore a look of boredom. "We're very busy tonight. What do you need?" She asked bluntly.

"You know," He sneered. "Thanks to today's laws, I could sue you for your attitude..." He said coldly. "But I'm in no mood to go through with it. Where's that can of oil I always get each night?"

"You'll have to wait your turn. Others are receiving them at the moment." She began to look at his file that sat before her on the desk. Trouble was written all over his report.

"Tell each and every one of your co-workers that--"

"_Sir_," She snapped, cutting him off. She was tired of hearing his rude voice. "If you'll wait right here, I'll go retrieve one myself so you can go back to your room for the night. How's that?"

Brian smirked. "Now why couldn't you have just done that in the first place?"

The nurse rolled her eyes and left her desk to head towards the back room.

He sat there looking at random things, trying to pass time. He smacked his lips together as another craving hit him. "I need a drink _so bad_..."

The green car turned around just in time to see his Freedom Doors being slammed open. Three paramedics were rushing in a victim covered with white tarps. They were shouting at invisible cars to get out of the way as they moved to the back ER room.

Just as soon as they had arrived, they were gone.

"I hope that one makes it," The nurse said, returning behind the desk, once again startling Brian from his thoughts. "We got a call earlier that he was coming in any minute."

Brian turned around to face her. "Hey Sweetie, do you know where I can buy some liquor?" He asked, ignoring her sympathetic statement.

The nurse sighed. "No," She told him, now highly annoyed.

"Whiskey?"

"No."

"Vodka?"

"No..."

"Tequila? Wine?"

"Nope."

"Beer?" He asked desperately.

"For the last time, no!"

"Damn it, lady! Listerine Mouth Wash?! Anything?!"

She sighed again. "Sir, go to bed before I pager--"

"Fine! I'm leaving..." Brian told her, snatching his oil can off the counter in front of him. He drove back down the hall to his bedroom.

The nurse watched him leave. She placed a tire on the call button to Colby's office intercom. "Sir, your star patient is on the prowl for alcohol..." She took her tire off the call button and waited for a reply.

"It's only normal," Colby's voice started. "Just make sure he doesn't get a hold of any."

She replaced her tire back on the button to add a comment about that. "He's not in my division, so he's not my problem."

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Brennard sighed. "I don't know what else we can do for him tonight. We've done all we can..." He said, looking over Alex's pitiful form that lay motionless.

"Well," Colby started. "He's stable, and that's all that matters right now."

The two doctors were noting the steady beep of one of the many machines hooked up to the Mustang. Both had slaved away for hours to make sure he would make it through the night. Tomorrow morning would be a whole new miracle.

"What's his status right now?" Colby asked his colleague, who was still busy pondering his own thoughts.

Brennard drove up to Alex's form and took a look at the chart that sat next to the lift. "Not including massive front end damage, our patient has a significant amount of destruction to his engine. It's dislocated completely. If you look here," Brennard said as he popped open the hood to Alex. "You can see how his engine has been smashed in. Visibly, everything's been shifted."

Colby drove closer to inspect it himself. "Continue..."

"Over here," Brennard said, pointing to a certain area. "Everything to the left, after impact, needs to be rebuilt. From his exhaust manifold, left valve cover, cylinder head, to his oil filter... Also, the alternator, power steering unit, pulley assembly, and oil pan will have to be reset... Although I do say so myself," He stated proudly. "He is very lucky that is all the damage done to his engine. Nothing interior besides that has been dislocated or misplaced, thankfully."

"Anything else?" Colby asked.

"Yes." Brennard stated, closing Alex's bent hood as best as he could. He then moved over to the lift system and proceeded to raise the Mustang off the ground. "See for yourself..."

Colby moved under Alex's frame and examined the other injuries. Not quite so bad as his engine, the Mustang seemed to be in better shape than expected. His exhaust system and driveshaft were jammed. His front springs and rear axle needed attention also.

"All this can wait until tomorrow?"

Brennard lowered Alex back down to the tile floor and turned to Colby. "It can, but he will need to be monitored most of the day and through the night."

Colby sighed and closed his eyes briefly. "This kid's in trouble..."

"He is, I had a nurse inform me not too long ago that the cops were are already waiting for a release date so that they can charge him. But rest assure, I will not let the law take him out of this hospital until he's ready to go."

"Got any information off of him? A list of contacts?"

"No, but I can most likely put up a notice for him." Brennard regarded Alex's looks. "But around here, it won't be hard to find another racer such as himself."

Colby nodded in agreement.

"So what about your patient? The green car?"

"Well, after fighting for his life for three damn months," He announced sarcastically. "I'm just glad to see him back on his tires... He really had us working our hardest."

"What made you fight for him so long?"

"You know that teal car that keeps driving around here?" Colby asked, inching closer. "That's his wife."

Brennard smiled and laughed slightly. "What's her name?"

"Sadie," He told him. "Real sweet gal, but doesn't love anything else but her husband... Though Brian doesn't deserve her. I'm sure you've seen her here these past three months, haven't you?"

"Oh, I definitely have," Brennard said, driving back to Alex to put away his status chart. "But I've got a question for you, Colby, just how much work is this car going to need exactly?"

"Judging what we've seen, I'm saying anything between thirty to forty percent rebuilt. We can work his frame into position, as well as fix his chassis. So all that's left is his engine."

"I better get going," Brennard started. "I've got other patients to tend to. I'll assign a nurse on watch for this guy, other than that I think he'll be okay for now..."

Colby and Brennard exited the room to resume their jobs, leaving a small lamp on in the corner of Alex's room for some light.

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The two doctors had slaved away the next day for hours, repairing what they could and replacing what they had to. Finally, they reached a stopping point, satisfied with the progress made. It was midnight when they looked up at the clock, something they expected.

Brennard looked over at Colby and sighed. "Think we've got it covered for now?" He asked, reversing away from Alex a little. After much stress, he was glad to finally have a break from it all.

The more experienced doctor inched forward, evaluating their work on the Mustang's engine. "This is good work, we can call it a day..." Colby said, turning to face him. "We've covered the major damage, we can finish the little things some other time. The car's lucky that he made it this far, that crash should have killed him."

Brennard thought on that, putting away certain tools. "What do we have to do next?"

Colby started cleaning up also, the place was a mess. "Don't worry about that, you have other patients in critical condition right now. I think it's safe to move him into another room until we work on him next. Besides, we need this room open for tomorrow."

The other doctor nodded, he understood. "Well, what room do we have for him? We don't have many rooms open, currently..." Brennard noted, closing Alex's hood.

"I've reserved a room for him, it's Nevinger's old room."

"Oh, isn't that the car that just died?" Brennard asked bluntly.

Colby sighed as he pressed the nurse's call button. "Yeah, it is," He said wheeling the tools out of the room. "Wait here for the nurse, have her help you move Alex to Nevinger's." With that, the car disappeared around the corner as he rolled down the hall.

Brennard looked down at his reflection on the tile, his white chassis a bit blinding at first. He then looked up at the sleeping form in front of him, Alex's chassis was completely distorted on the left. The doctor began to wonder just how long it'd take to fix it all.

"Sir?" A voice from behind him asked. "You called?"

Brennard turned around to see a nurse parked in the doorway. "Yes, I need help moving this patient to another room..."

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Brian was on the verge of falling asleep when from the room to his left, he heard movement and voices. The dull murmur of their conversation was barely clear, so he made no effort to figure out what they could be talking about. Instead he sat there, waiting for the muffled sound of multiple engines to leave.

But when they didn't, he began to get upset.

The green car growled and got to his tires, moving over to the other side of the room hoping to possibly hear their conversation better. Just as he got to the wall, he heard the door close, and the cars that were once there were now gone.

He sighed and started to drive back to where he slept. "So much for that..."

The darkness in his room was cut by a beam of light coming through an air vent that was near the bottom of the wall. Brian stared at, looking for movement. Through the silence, he could hear the steady beep of a machine. It wasn't his, for he had made the doctors take that annoying thing out of his room. So who was in there now?

Brian once again drove over there and tried to listen through the wall. Someone grunted for a moment, who ever it was could possibly be awake. But Brian's curiosity had him digging around in the cabinets by his door for a screwdriver. When he found one, he returned to the vent and began to unscrew the covering, using his headlights to see what he was doing.

Removing the cover, he was met by the angry glare of a large, orange figure. "Do you _mind_?" The car asked.

Brian jumped back in surprise. "Sorry, just bored..." He said, replacing the cover back over the vent. The green car didn't expect his new neighbor to be so close to the wall. He was about to fix it when the car spoke again.

"Next time mind your own business, prick."

Brian dropped the screwdriver and slammed the vent cover on the wall, it dropped to the floor with a deafening clatter before settling on the tile. "Fine, fix it yourself." He told him, not too happy with the other car's attitude. He pulled back from the wall slightly, out of his neighbor's view range of him and turned off his headlights.

"No need," The car replied coldly. "I'll have maintenance do it."

"Boy, if you don't shut up, maintenance will be cleaning_ you _up off their floor."

The car laughed sarcastically at Brian's attempt to make a threat. "Go ahead and do it! I've got nothing else to live for."

Brian was taken aback at the car's retort, he didn't expect him to respond. He hadn't really looked at the car, he'd only saw him at a glance. He couldn't see any damage from his angle, so what was the big deal? Already he didn't like his new neighbor. He found it ridiculous that they were arguing through the wall. And he was wasn't used to having someone stand up to him after all these years of being labeled the toughest around.

For he was, anyone who knew who he was didn't question him. Anyone new in town quickly found out who Brian was from stories, or from a mistake of their own. Though he had always been known as the town drunkard, but that didn't mean that was what cars called him out loud.

Brian backed up from the wall and parked where he usually slept in his room. He hoped the car wouldn't be in that room long, even if it was because he died.

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He was sitting in his room, trying to pass the time by going through his medical documents. And they weren't good, to say the least. He sighed and continued to flip through the pages, finding old papers that supplied bad information.

The car in the room to his left was playing music. At first, it didn't bother Brian because the wall had muffled some of it. It was certainly better than that creepy silence and beeping of machines. But the music, over time, had became increasingly loud. To the point where he could hear the lyrics.

Loud classic rock blared from Alex's speakers as he tried to zone out everything in life.

Enough was enough.

Brian sighed sharply, now annoyed because the doctors allowed the car to have the music that loud. He threw an empty oil pan at the wall harshly, and like that the music stopped abruptly. "Turn that down!" Brian screamed. There was a brief moment of silence when Brian thought he had won, but the music came back on louder than ever.

He growled and kicked on his engine. Pushing the doors to his room open, he moved down the hall one door over. He slammed Alex's door open exceptionally hard, and sat there in the doorway glaring at the orange car.

The slam startled Alex, he immediately turned off his radio and returned the glare.

"Damn it, kid," Brian started through gritted teeth. "If you don't quit, I'll rip your speakers out myself!"

Alex rolled his eyes at the car. "Why can't you just leave me alone? I haven't done _anything_ to you!" He said, shifting his weight so that he appeared to be bigger than Brian. Though that didn't help him much, Brian had seen it all before.

Brian smirked. "Oh yeah, keep trying to act tough," He announced sarcastically with a slight laugh. "It's really effective."

Alex wasn't sure how to handle this for some reason. He decided to use his racing accident as some sort of an excuse. "You see this injury?" He asked Brian, looking at his chassis damage. The green car entered the room all the way. "I got this from a fight just the other--"

"Correction, kid," Brian said, cutting him off. "You got that from a race you couldn't let go." The kid's surprised look gave away the truth, and he knew to continue from there. The orange car was no good at playing the character game. "And if you're so tough, you would have won that fight." The other car's expression became increasingly discouraged.

Alex was confused at all this. "How did--"

"Besides, if you knew who I was you wouldn't have picked a fight with me anyways..."

The Mustang looked Brian over, trying hard to remember anything about him, if he ever saw him before. Then it hit him, and he suddenly knew who this car was. He had heard stories of him, both good and bad. Amazement filled his expression. "You're Brian Car--"

"Yeah... I am." He said, for the first time thinking that maybe this chat wasn't such a good idea.

"You trained The Fabulous Hudson Hornet!" Alex blurted out, the car's inspiration in racing sat before him.

Brian was officially convinced that this conversation _wasn't_ a good thing, not a good thing at all. He stared at the ground as a past life filled his thoughts. "Yeah... I did train him..." He looked up at Alex to see the young car smiling brightly, as if he was trying to find the right question to ask.

For the first time, the green car noticed something. The Mustang reminded him of Colton. Brian sighed to himself and kicked on his engine, he wanted to leave before this conversation could continue. Too many memories were being brought up, along with the bad feelings he got that he tried so hard to suppress these days.

"Wait! Where you going?" Alex asked, watching the car turn around. He hoped he didn't offend him.

"I'm going back to my room. Keep the music down, will ya?" He pushed his way through the double doors and left the muscle car in complete astonishment.

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_So what did you think? Did you like it? Should I continue?_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey! Welcome back!_

_For those of you who are still following, sorry for such a long wait. My writer's block wasn't giving me any mercy. So, here you are, next chapter. I wanted to let everyone know, that after this chapter, I'll be changing the rating to M for Mature just to be safe! I don't want any trouble from the authorities, even though I think this story should be okay._

_Disclaimer: I don't know how many of my __OCs are going to be in here, but I own them. So please don't take them! Other than that, enjoy!_

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**CHAPTER TWO**

The Lynyrd Skynyrd song playing that night in the bar was barely noticed by Dave. The car sat at the bar strip, zoning out the rest of the world as he thought about the situation. He was no longer angry, but distraught and confused. He was stuck in this situation with Brian, and for the first time in a long time he wanted nothing to do with that car.

He was done trying to be his best friend, through with trying to help him. All this time, all his life he had done everything he could to make sure the other car lived the perfect life. And for what reason? The car didn't deserve it, and Brian certainly didn't make any effort to return the favor.

Dave sighed and took a sip of his drink. It was rare when he drank, but when ever he did it was for a good reason. Tonight, he had left the house and drove, just drove as he tried to escape his relentless thoughts. He didn't know why he came to the bar, he really didn't. Because this was Brian's place to come, to drink himself away from what ever _problems_ he had. He supposed it was the only place where he didn't know anyone.

And that's what angered Dave, what problems? Brian doesn't work, hasn't worked in years. He has the car of his dreams as a wife, she was his and always will be. The car had great friends, and a life to kill for. So what _problems_? Why couldn't Brian give up drinking and live a life where everyone could be happy?

Dave knows for a fact that Brian acts different around him, and no one else. It was just him. But why? Could it have been jealousy? Hopefully not, because that would be absurd after all these years. He was so used to the mean car he called his best friend all these years, that he just shoved that back in his thoughts, on the list of his problems he tried to forget.

It was almost ridiculous.

What had Dave done to deserve this treatment? And it drove him absolutely insane, it tore him up in side each day. Because that car had nothing to complain about. He thought back on all the years, when times had been happier; before Doc had left for good.

"_I appreciate what you've done for me, Dave." Brian said as he looked out into the night from the porch. "I really don't know how to repay you..." _

"_I don't want you to." He told him, finally hoping that the other car would be okay. Maybe he'd finally accept life and move on past Colton's death._

_Brian half smiled, but didn't look his way. "I probably ignore all your help because I don't know how to accept it very well."_

And that had been true, for some time. But then Doc signed that contract with another team, and things fell apart. He crashed, and was never seen again after February of 1954. Just when Dave thought things would be okay, they were forced to start all over again. And the maroon car was forced to be the strong one, once again. He hated being the strong one, and wished he had someone to go to. That car should have been Brian, but the green car was too busy drowning himself in liquor each night to think that maybe Dave was suffering more than him.

So he started working at the company more, making it was it is today. It was stressful, but it was _his_ only escape. When everything else in life started to fall apart, he knew that all he had to do was drive to work. Eventually the company became Dave's masterpiece, a brilliant, intricate structure that was wealthy, and worth it. It was something the maroon car could sit back and finally say, "Something to be proud of."

And that's what shut his thoughts up, he could forget about his life at home when working. He practically lived at the company, sad that on Sunday's it was officially closed to all employees. The only reason that he wasn't going there on Sunday's was because of the fact that he'd be all alone. But then again, he had the keys...

He had lost his wife to the company by doing that, years ago. Joanna had been everything, the love of his life.

Or so he thought.

The more he thought about it, he knew their marriage was doomed. It wouldn't have lasted, even if they both tried. But Dave had consumed himself in his company so much, that he forgot to question just what that could have been doing to their relationship. Then why was he still thinking about her all these years later?

Everything had gone down hill after Doc left...

Dave ordered a shot glass and threw it back as more of those thoughts consumed him. He didn't come here to dwell too much on the current situation. But they kept coming back, and he grabbed another shot. He would not let those thoughts get to him, not here.

Sadie had quit working here at the bar long ago. Around the time that Sauter, the original owner, had died.

As successful as Dave was, he hated life. Problems galore, drama each day. And Brian's engine failure didn't help at all. That was the day he officially came to attention, knowing for sure that his friendship with Brian would never be the same. The car was so self-centered. Why had the car let his addiction get so far? Didn't he know it'd all come down to life and death?

It was then that Dave felt some sort of pain. He couldn't tell if it was physical or an emotion he had held back all these years. Was it tears? No, hell no, certainly not. Dave sunk down lower to the floor on his chassis and sighed as he realized what it was.

Loneliness.

He knew it was, because he felt alone in this world. What car could he call a true friend in life? What car could possibly--

The double doors to the bar swung open, and Dave turned around to see who it could be. He was surprised to see a familiar tan car parked by the entrance, surveying the crowded room. Some sort of smile made it's way onto his grill as he recognized the car to be Shane, his apprentice.

That was his friend, Dave knew it. If anyone, it was him.

Through the dim lighted atmosphere of the bar, Shane spotted his boss and made his way over to the other side of the room. Parking beside him, he ordered a drink. "Dave, I didn't know you drank." He said bluntly, trying to start a conversation.

Dave sighed and turned around to face the crowd. He stared off into space, looking over the partying cars. "On certain occasions..." He told him, not really wanting to elaborate.

Shane turned around to face the same direction as Dave once he got his drink. He settled down and got comfortable, much like the other car. "And tonight would be one of those occasions?"

Dave nodded. "Yeah, actually." But after letting go of his thoughts, something occurred to him. "What brings you here tonight?" He asked, glancing to his side. Now he was concerned, Shane never went out for a night on the town, he was sure of it.

"Well, I came here to talk to you..."

For a moment, Dave let that sink in. "How'd you know I'd be here? Even I didn't know..."

Shane smirked briefly, though it soon faded. "You weren't at home, and this is the only other place I'd think you'd come." He said, for the first time trying his drink. He looked down at it approvingly.

Dave looked over at Shane while the car admired his drink. "Why would you do that?"

The tan car sighed and held eye contact with his boss before answering. "To tell you the truth, you've got me worried. I came here to make sure everything was alright."

Dave smiled, sometimes he was amazed at how much that car cared. He was happy to know that, for some reason. He needed someone to care about him, and after all those times of helping cars along in life, _someone _was finally returning the favor.

Now the car had his full attention. "Why do I give you reason to worry?"

"Because," Shane started. "I've always known you as this tough car that can take life, and everything it throws at you. Three months ago, you were on the verge of killing any car that even _mentioned_ Brian, and now you're starting to..."

Dave leaned towards him. "Starting to what?"

"Starting to fall apart..." The car finally admitted. That surprised Dave, was it that obvious? "And it's upsetting," Shane continued, looking at him. "You've always been strong." Dave sat there and thought about that while his friend finished his drink. "And now that Brian's okay, you're acting different..."

Dave nodded, that was true.

"For the first time ever, I don't think you know how to handle life." He knew that Brian had a big impact on his life, and everyone Dave knew. Shane could also tell that things were at their lowest for the car, now that things were starting to get 'better'. Since Brian had become fully stable, ready to live his life again, this past week had been hell for Dave.

Dave was silent, and Shane continued. "I know these past three months you've been busy being the strong one, and now that you don't have to..." He sighed. "You're taking this time to actually think about yourself, instead of caring about everyone else in life." He wanted the other car to know that it was okay to care about himself once in a while.

"Shane, I--"

"Take a break, Dave." Shane told him, his tone serious. "You're stressed out, and it shows more than you think! Just let go of reality for a week or two... take some time off and go to some place other than the company." He wanted more than anything for his boss to relax. He looked up to him, and respected the car for how he acted, and dealt with life. "Besides, I can handle the place for a while, you've taught me well..."

Dave sank on his shocks, thinking about the situation. It was true, he had been out of order for some time. He had trouble keeping a schedule this past week, for life was surreal to him. He was showing up later, and later for work.

Shane surveyed the room. "Find a girl, or something..."

The maroon car snapped to attention at that statement. "Don't say it... don't say her name..." He pleaded softly.

Shane was too busy looking around the room to notice Dave's horrified expression. "Or are you still hurting over the whole _Cadence_ thing?"

Dave gave a small whine at the mention of her name. He rolled back slightly, just hearing her name made him reflect on how much pain he felt after her disappearance. "Yeah, Shane, I am..." He said, turning around to order another shot.

Shane did the same, though no drink ordered. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude," He said, watching Dave shoot back what ever tough liquor he ordered. "It's just you need to let her go. She's not coming back, ya know..."

Dave glared at the car beside him. Shane may have cared, but he told it how it was. That was something he needed, but didn't appreciate right now. Though he didn't have a retort to Shane's truth, so he sat there, facing the bar, staring at the wall behind it. Another shot, downed.

Shane's concern came back once again. He looked the maroon car up and down. "Maybe you should go home... this isn't you..." He told him, but Dave disagreed. "I'll drive you home, make sure you get there alright," He said, still trying to convince the car otherwise. He wasn't even supposed to be here in the first place. He had to go, Allison was waiting for him. "I don't feel comfortable leaving you here like this."

Dave didn't want to be left here to wallow in his sorrows, he hated being this low. It's why he forced himself to stay strong even when it was difficult. He forced himself to never break down, or lose self control. But tonight... didn't feel like one of those nights. He knew the kind of car he was, and how to keep a grip on life, and that's all that mattered to him right now.

Shane sighed sadly, he at least tried to help. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

Dave perked up at that. Tomorrow was Monday, and a reason to sober up. "Yes you will..."

The tan car started to turn around and leave his boss when he came back. "One more thing," He said, waiting until he had the car's full attention. "Don't stay here too long, your friends at your house are worried about you. They want you to come back home..." With that, he turned around to leave.

Dave looked at the room around him, it was starting to haze and feel different. He quickly paid the tab and turned around, driving after Shane. "Alright, okay, I'm coming..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Alex groaned and opened his eyes, only to be greeted by the darkness of night.

He was in pain, much more pain than he thought he'd be in. He didn't feel a thing after his crash, and was numb up until now. He guessed the doctor's medicine was finally wearing off, and it was showing brutally. The Mustang could feel a sort of ache that pulsed throughout his engine.

And that wasn't including the pain the left side of his chassis was in.

That particular pain was sharp, and that had been what had woken him up. Though the two types of pain merged together and made Alex feel sick, he had never felt this nauseous. But in a sad attempt to calm himself, he wound up panicking instead.

He turned on the lamp next to him as he continued to try and stay calm. The only thing that registered as an option in his mind was to call a nurse. He pressed the call button immediately, closing his eyes for some relief.

It wasn't too long before a nurse appeared in his doorway. "Yes, sir?"

Alex opened his eyes and sighed. "I'm seriously not feeling good. You got anything to help?"

Luckily for the Mustang, the nurse that was helping him had already read the car's diagnosis and knew what had happened and what was in store for him. She entered the room and began to dig through the cabinets on the wall next to her.

Alex waited patiently for what ever she was doing, sinking lower to the ground to settle his frame. He looked over at the clock, it was nearly midnight. "Is Doctor Brennard still here?" He asked the nurse.

She turned around and began to drive towards him with a fixed can of oil. "Yes, he is still here. His shift isn't over for another hour." She placed the can in front of him. "Why, do you need to speak with him?" Parking in front of him, she turned off her engine expecting a conversation.

"I do, actually," The Mustang said, regarding the can of oil for a moment. "This smells horrible..." He grumbled, inching away from it. Though he soon regretted it as a volt of pain coursed through him. He winced and looked up at the nurse. "Could you get him for me, please?"

She nodded and kicked on her engine. Turning around she looked at him through her side view mirror. "Don't drink that too fast, otherwise you'll be out of it for a while..." With that, she exited his room and proceeded to find the car's doctor.

Alex sighed once more and looked at the can again. He was quite skeptical about what was in it, but he knew it'd help. To his surprise, it was taking away some of the pain already. He found himself drinking it steadily, and quickly stopped himself. "The damn nurse knew that was coming..."

With the light now on, he could see the damage he had done to himself from that race. He was quite disgusted with himself for not backing down when he knew he should. Now he was in trouble, and stuck at this hospital for who knows how long.

He snapped to attention when the doors to his room were being pushed open. Brennard was rolling in quietly with a stern look upon his face. "Can I help you?" He asked, looking him over.

"Yeah..." He said, keeping perfectly still to not cause himself any more pain. "I wanted to know just how much all this is gonna cost me."

The doctor gave him a concerned expression, though it didn't last long. "Well, I can give you an estimate. But I don't know for sure until everything's done. You're looking at a bill any where between 14,000 to 15,000 at a minimum. Though that all depends on how much you're willing to pay for."

Brennard waited for Alex's answer before continuing.

The Mustang sighed, racing was all he knew. If he wasn't in prime condition, there was no way he'd be able to make it back into that life. He'd have to do it, pay for the best medical attention this hospital had to offer. And he was in luck, he had just enough race earnings in the bank to pay off what ever he needed done.

"How soon will I be able to get outta here?" He asked, somewhat desperate.

Brennard thought on that a while, though soon had an answer. "It really depends on how well your engine takes to how we fix it and what we do to it." He noted the other car's continuing growing disappointed look. Alex looked away from his eyes and towards the floor, feeling quite depressed now. "But," He said, regaining the Mustang's attention. "I'll see what we can do for you."

The doctor moved closer to Alex and opened his hood, surprising the car at first. He found it highly awkward now, having never been fully awake during a procedure. So he sat there, darting his eyes from left to right as his vision was blocked off by his hood.

"Though I'm not going to lie to you, Alex, you're in pretty bad shape. It may take a while, or you could recover real fast--"

"Ow!"

"Sorry," Brennard started. "Did I hurt you?" He asked, looking around Alex's hood to his eyes.

"_Yeah that hurt_," He said sarcastically. "What the hell are you doing?" He was a bit agitated at the moment, sucking down what ever oil was left to help drive away that sting of pain. He began to wonder if this was really necessary at the moment.

"Just checking up on a few things, gotta make sure my repairs are holding up until tomorrow." He continued his work, careful not to disturb his patient too much. "Either way, you're gonna be sent to the hospital's rehab unit for a couple of months for extra caution. I can't have you roaming the streets with possible failure."

Alex sighed, _possible failure _wasn't an option. Just being sent to recovery meant more time he wouldn't be racing. "You almost_ done_?"

Brennard slammed the Mustang's hood down as best as he could, examining the car's gruesome left side damage. "I'm surprised your fender is still intact..." He moved around to Alex's side and faced him. "I'm gonna need you to lift that tire," He said, writing notes down on the clipboard.

Alex glared at the doctor through the corner of his vision. "I can't," He said, looking away. "I honestly can't."

The doctor placed the clipboard back on the counter and started up his engine. "You just might need to have your frame reset, though we won't be able to know for sure until Monday."

"Monday's tomorrow, ain't it?"

Brennard nodded. "And I won't be here until noon. Have a good night, Alex." He drove out of the room and left Alex to his peace.

The Mustang sighed angrily. He shoved the empty oil can away from him as hard as he could, it still smelled horrible. Reaching over with his right tire the best he could, he turned off his lamp. Getting sleep was a bit more valuable to him at the moment than worrying about the events of tomorrow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He couldn't move, so what else was he supposed to do? Sitting in his hospital room all day long wasn't exactly interesting to him, and it certainly was making him crazy. Alex was used to being energetic and full of life. He was used to racing, not sitting still for hours on end. Racing was the only way he could wear down that extra energy.

But it was official, he couldn't move. He was literally stuck in what ever position the doctors had placed his frame in. Where ever his tires sat, that's where he was. That was, unless he wanted pain. His driveshaft was jammed, which meant he couldn't roll to where ever he wanted to go.

What ever he needed was done for him, another thing the Mustang wasn't used to. He was so independent, so free. Though now, he was helpless.

"The sooner these doctors hurry up..." He mumbled, looking around his room some more.

Though he knew very well that his doctor and the others were extremely busy when they weren't tending to him. He respected that, and hoped for the best on what ever they were doing. But sitting here was driving him insane, he couldn't handle it.

He had bugged the nurse enough, and Alex knew he shouldn't call her back to him again.

Eyeing the TV in the corner of the room, he sighed. "Though I could really use the remote..."

Alex lifted his right tire up carefully, and very shakily. He was about to press the call button when he stopped himself, feeling as if he shouldn't. He could tell she was just as busy, if not stressed past her limit. So the TV was a no go.

He glanced to his right, at the air vent on the wall next to him.

"Brian," He breathed, remembering their conversation the night before. He felt himself grow more anxious, wanting to talk to the other car about his racing experiences. Alex wanted desperately to know more about The Fabulous Hudson Hornet, and what his trainer had taught him.

This was his only chance to talk to the famous car. And what were the odds that he'd meet that particular car in this very hospital? It wasn't uncommon for cars to come to the hospital after race injuries, but Alex had doubts that Brian was here for the same reason.

"Brian?" He called weakly, hoping maybe the other car would hear him through the air vent. "Brian, are you there?" Faintly, the Mustang could hear the shuffling and the short, small squeal of a single tire in the other room. Someone was definitely there.

Slowly, Alex began to inch closer towards the wall. Though pain was more evident with each inch he gained towards the air vent. It was almost enough for the car to stop doing it all together, but the feeling of pain would only be present the longer he took to get to the wall.

In his mind, it was a good investment for someone who would be spending another ten hours awake in a dull room before nightfall.

With that as his encouragement, he stole his nerves and began to inch over to the wall. In a last ditch effort, he surged forward and parked himself next to the air vent. The pain immediately set in, sending Alex into a world of hurt just as he settled his frame. That had exhausted him, another sign he was in no shape to be out of the hospital soon.

"The recovery floor better work..." Alex groaned to himself, panting softly as he tried to calm down.

He leaned forward to look through the air vent and into the other room. He couldn't see anyone, and it was hard enough with the grill in the way. "Brian?" He called again. He smirked when he thought that the other car might be attempting to ignore him. Though he wouldn't let that go. "Brian," He said firmly. "I know you're there."

He sighed, no one answered. But he'd have one last try at it. "Mr. Car--"

"What do you want?" Brian asked harshly. He was in no mood to discuss what ever the car wanted.

Alex smiled, he got him to talk. "I was just wondering if maybe you'd be interested in coming over? You know, have a conversation or something." He listened intently, leaning closer to the vent in order to hear the slightest agreement. He wanted more than anything to talk racing with him. "C'mon, you've got nothing better to do," He reasoned.

Brian cringed, feeling quite horrible today. He was actually scared of that car, knowing who he was and what his profession currently was. Though by the looks of it, racing might not be his career after all this was over.

But the truth was, after so many years of trying to get rid of his past life, he wasn't ready to re-live all those times. He wasn't ready to talk about all of that to some car he, oh so rudely met just last night. In fact, he didn't know that anyone knew his name these days.

Though it wasn't uncommon for racers to know other famous racers. Especially in a small town in South Carolina, even if it _had been_ the home of The Fabulous Hudson Hornet, along with the South Carolina Racing Headquarters.

Brian reversed and backed into the wall, trying his best to avoid his neighbor.

And he had seen Colton last night, he had seen his dead best friend in the other car's eyes. It took him all morning to finally figure out that it really did cause him a great deal of pain, and now he was feeling bad. Depression was making it's way to him the more he thought on it.

"Brian?" Alex called after a while, worried when he didn't get an answer.

The green car snapped from his deep thoughts, glancing over at the vent in the wall quickly. A certain thought struck him with too much power. Not only was his neighbor's color just like Colton's, but the voice matched as well. It was scary when he realized that. Though he had to make sure of something else before he would really begin to panic. "What's your name?" He asked.

"Alex, sir. My name is Alex." The Mustang answered, thinking maybe he would be able to make friends with him.

Brian sighed in relief, thankful that his name wasn't ironically Colton. Though he couldn't talk to him, not now. He just couldn't. His thoughts were consuming him, bringing him back into a life that was dark and cold.

He glanced around the room. Frustration was rising within him, along with the compelling urge to run away. It was then that he realized that he should talk to someone he knew and loved, someone that cared about him. "Alex," He started, shifting on his tires uneasily. "Now's not a good time..."

The car kicked on his engine and started to drive towards his room's exit and to the lobby. He would call Sadie, maybe she could comfort him. Hearing her voice always made him feel better, even at times in his life when he wished he was no longer alive.

A soft whimper escaped him as he pushed open the room's double doors, turning sharply to the left. He knew he could never go back and fix what he's broken. Though a phone call would chase those thoughts away for today.

"I'm so sorry, you guys..." He whispered, reaching an empty room. Another day, another lie.

He sighed again, an even stronger whimper following along. "Another regret."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_So, who's Cadence? What's Alex going to do now? Will Brian ever face his fears? More drama and the beginning of a romance, next chapter._


	3. Chapter 3

_Once again, welcome back! This chapter turned out better than I expected, so I hope everyone likes this!_

_Disclaimer: __I don't know how many of my OCs are going to be in here, but I own them. So please don't take them! Other than that, enjoy!_

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**CHAPTER THREE**

_Bright red paint, black fenders and a set of golden hazel eyes, this car looked like she belonged somewhere other than her destination. She made her way through the building, strolling down the final isle of the top floor to the company._

_The cars there stopped and stared, marveling and questioning her presence. What could she be doing in a place like this?_

_Cadence smirked. "Silly boys," She mumbled to herself. She then rose her frame higher off the ground in a too good for you attitude, gliding across the tile floor flaunting her chassis and award winning smile. "This could be fun," She said, looking at the cars to her left and right, winking at the few of them._

_At that moment, Shane had driven out of his office. He was curious as to why everything had gotten so quiet. When he turned and looked, he saw one hell of a car parking herself in Dave's doorway. "Damn..." He muttered, listening to the steady hum of her engine._

_Cadence knocked on Dave's door, waiting patiently until the car she came to see greeted her._

_Dave's door opened, and the maroon car was met by the bright and cheerful face of Cadence. "Yes?" He asked casually. "What can I do for you?" For the first time, he noticed this was no ordinary car._

_"Hello, my name's Cadence." She said. "I'm here to apply for a job, and I was told you were the man to see."_

_Dave chuckled lightly and smiled. "You wanna apply for a job here?" The car nodded, and he sighed. He couldn't believe he was considering this. "Come into my office," He said, looking at all the cars behind her. "We can talk in here..."_

_Dave drove out of the doorway and back behind his desk. Cadence took careful note of turning around before shutting the door, batting her eyes at everyone as she did. She turned around and faced Dave, reading the fancy name plate on the desk. She was a bit amazed to finally figure out that she was talking to The Boss. But she took it in stride, settling her chassis and relaxing. She could handle this._

_The maroon car sat back on his shocks, looking her over once more. "So, you came to apply for a job... What brought you here?" He asked._

_"First off, I'd like to say thank you for giving me your time. I know you must be very busy, being the company owner and all." She said, working her charm into her voice. She then placed a folder on his desk. "And I do believe you'd be quite interested to know that--"_

_"Ma'am," He said, cutting her off. He had seen many cars come in here, looking for a job. But right now wasn't the time he wanted to be bothered with such a thing. "I'm sorry to say that I'm not looking for another employee. Maybe you should consider looking elsewhere--"_

_"Sir," She snipped, inching forward, motioning towards the folder. "You haven't even looked at my résumé..."_

_Dave sat back, unsure of her tone. But the more he thought about it, he liked her attitude. She was persistent, and determined. And she had the nerve to approach and be straightforward with him. He liked her authoritative figure._

_He gave her a skeptical look, watching her pull her frame together to sit before him in a proud manner. He glanced at the folder, then back at her and proceeded to open it._

_Looking through the files, he was amazed. Though he tried not to let it show on his features. This woman was highly qualified, more than what he expected. He looked back up at her, surprised and not sure how he could let her go. This company needed someone like her. The only thing stopping him was the fact she could be a distraction, referring to her looks._

_"What did you say your name was?" He asked._

_"Cadence. Though you may call me Cadie..."_

_Dave smirked and closed the folder before giving it back to her. "What position are you looking for, here at the company?" She was persuasive, and powerful._

_She smiled and rolled back slightly, pondering the best answer for this question. "You said yourself that you weren't hiring, which means you don't have a current situation where you need the help. I'd say what ever you feel comfortable with, I'm game for any spot." She was constantly checking to see if this guy was still interested, still hooked. But this guy was tough, he was nobody's fool._

_Cadence came back, closer to him. She leaned in and spoke softly. "I know I can help this company out, I know I can make a difference." He still wasn't buying her charm, and definitely wasn't falling for her technique. "I can, and I will."_

_"Well, you'd have to fight Shane for that position," He said, knowing that the car was his current apprentice. "And I don't plan on giving you that job." _

_She rolled back away from him, feeling that her attempts to break Dave down were failing. For some reason, she could tell her pending boss was different from the other guys._

_But Dave liked her determination. He would hire her, and place her at the lowest level on the top floor to the company. "How about I start you off with something easy, and we see where it goes?" Having a job on the top floor was perfect enough, but it was a challenge._

_She smiled. "That sounds wonderful. When do I start?"_

_"Today," He said, driving out from behind his desk and to his office's door. He opened it as Cadence turned around to face him. "If you make a right and keep going, there's a guy at the end who'll help you set up an office for now. How's that?"_

_Still holding her sweet little smile, she stopped next to him in the doorway. "You won't regret this," She said, driving off in the direction she was told, careful not to brush past him._

_Dave watched her leave, knowing that she was smart and wouldn't need any help. He turned slightly, and looked over the entire top floor. Work had stopped again, apparently they had been waiting for the new car to exit his office. Some of the cars were still talking in small cliques._

_He sat in front of his office with disbelief. "Get back to work and stop acting so foolish..." He looked to his side and noticed that Shane was in another world also. He couldn't figure out why his apprentice wasn't doing something about this. "Shane, what the hell are you doing? You're supposed to be supervising everyone."_

_Though he ignored his question, and finally looked over at his boss. "Is that our new co-worker? Top floor?"_

_All attention was on him as he nodded. "And as soon as you guys start slacking off, she's outta here..." With that, he turned around and went back into his office to finish working on papers before his interruption._

_As Dave's door closed, everyone looked at Shane. "Alright," He started. "You heard him! Get back to work!"_

_The cars scrambled back to their offices and work stations, catching up on work so they could have some free-time._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There was a knock on Alex's door the next day. "Come in," He told his visitor. It was about time someone came to see him today.

Brennard pushed his way through the double doors and entered the room. Smiling, he drove up to the Mustang. "I have some good news for you," He said, shutting off his engine. "There's someone here to see you." The doctor was glad to have finally found someone that his patient knew.

Alex sighed, he didn't know who it could be. He had many friends, though not many that were close; at least not after what had happened. "Who is it?"

Brennard's smile lessened at that, he hadn't caught the car's name. "I'm not sure, though he seems to know you very well. He even dug up some personal information as proof."

The Mustang rolled his eyes. He knew who it was, and wasn't happy about it. Not meaning to, he glared at the doctor with cruel eyes. "Where is he?"

Brennard inched back slightly, surprised at the car's angry look. "Out in the lobby," He said, turning on his engine and switching into reverse. "I'll go get him." Before Alex could get a word in on that, his doctor had turned around and left the room.

Alex growled in frustration, the last car he wanted to see was his teammate. Though after he'd get out of the hospital for good, the Mustang would make sure that would be no more. He settled on his tires, trying to rest his frame as well as he could without causing himself too much pain.

At the sound of an approaching engine, he quickly gathered himself into another stance that clearly stated he was ready to inflict damage to his teammate, even though his state of physical health was enough to push away his pride.

The double doors slammed open and revealed a Mustang much like Alex, only this car was navy blue with the number 66 painted on his sides in silver, as well with two large silver stripes starting at his hood and trailing across the top of his chassis. "Alex, buddy!" He yelled as he drove into the room. He was glad to see that his friend was alive. His high spirit quickly filling the room as he drove up to him.

Completely ignoring Alex's look of disgust, the car did a circle around his teammate. "Wow," He started, coming back around to face him. "You look like hell!"

At that, Alex was on the verge of losing his temper. Though he held it as best as he could. "What do you want, Gunner?" He asked through gritted teeth.

Gunner laughed, "What do you mean_ what do I want_?" He asked, giving the car a confused look. But deep down he was scared of his friend, afraid of the car disowning him. "I came here to make sure you were okay." He began to drive around the room, looking at different things. Nothing in particular, just stalling incase there was an argument. There was no denying the consequences now.

Alex could feel his engine boiling with rage, he didn't know if he could tolerate Gunner's presence much longer. "Why do you suddenly_ care_?" He snapped, but the car ignored him once again as he continued to observe the room around him.

"Nice room ya got here, I thought hospitals were a bit more bland than this," He noted.

"What would you know?" He said, finally getting the other car's attention. "You've never_ been _in one!"

His teammate drove back over to him, concern etched on his face. "What's wrong, Alex? What did I do?"

Alex scoffed, wanting more than anything to hit the car in front of him. "You! That's what's wrong! You left me for dead, damn it!"

Gunner sighed, he knew he couldn't play that game anymore. He would have to stop his act before this got too far. Guilt had driven him here, and now it was time to talk. "Okay," He finally said, pulling up in front of Alex. "I know, and I'm sorry. But you've gotta understand--"

"Understand what?!" Alex yelled, Gunner flinching at his tone.

"Alex," Gunner started, turning serious. "You know street racing is a tricky business, an illegal business. I can't afford for everyone to get called in by the cops, I thought you'd know that by now." He shifted on his tires, getting comfortable as he knew this would most likely be a dreadful conversation.

"So basically you're just telling me 'it was me or them'?" Alex asked, staring the car down. "I thought we were friends!" He huffed, wondering why this was so difficult.

Gunner closed his eyes momentarily, knowing that was true and hoping it still was. "I know you understand what I'm talking about, Alex. So don't make this personal, okay?"

Alex sat there in disbelief as the navy blue car continued.

"This has nothing to do with me having anything against you, so--"

"No," Alex said, cutting in. "It's a complete let down! Friends don't do that kind of stuff!" He was beginning to think that the only reason Gunner came was to make sure he'd be able to keep racing once he got out of the hospital. "I bet you didn't really care whether I lived or not! I bet--"

"Wrong!" Gunner yelled, using a chilling voice. "You don't know what happened after we all took off!" That statement silenced Alex, and he now had the full attention of the other car. "When the sirens were gone for good," He started. "I beat the tar out of that Chevy and made sure you got your cut of the pay from those races."

Alex stayed quiet as his teammate searched for something.

"Here," Gunner said, dropping a fat envelope on the floor in front of Alex. "That's your earnings..." He pushed it closer to the injured racer for him to reach it. Alex took the envelope with his good tire and looked inside. "Don't worry, I didn't take any of it..."

Alex scoffed. He knew Gunner wouldn't steal his money, but this argument wasn't about the money; it was much more than that. Though after everything that had gone on, it was a little hard to accept. He hated himself for trusting his life with the car sitting in front of him.

"Let me know when you get better," Gunner said, ending the silence between them. "Soon they'll have you back on your tires and racing." He had said all he wanted to say, and it was time for him to leave. Healing a friendship could be done later.

Alex's thoughts were confirmed, his teammate really did care more about racing. He was only in it for the money, it seemed. Gunner was almost to the door when Alex called out to him. "I quit," He stated firmly, noticing the other car's shocked reaction.

Gunner turned around, "What do you mean quit?"

"I don't want to race with you anymore..." He said, narrowing his eyes at him. "I should have known this was going to happen one day."

"But, Alex," Gunner whined. "You're our best racer! We need you on our team!"

"Well apparently you don't, because you couldn't be there when I needed you." He watched the growing look of desperation on Gunner's face, and returned it with a look of disappointment. "Go find another car to fill my spot. It would be such a disgrace to race with you now."

"You don't mean that..." Gunner assured him, still trying to find his friendship.

"No, Gunner, I do. You're not the car I used to know, racing has taken control of you." There was a moment of distraught thoughts for Gunner as Alex breathed in deep, this was going to be hard on both of them. Calling off this friendship was already having it's effects. "Please leave, and don't come back," He finally said.

Gunner looked at Alex desperately, trying his hardest to figure out what to say to the car. If there was anything left that could fix things, it wasn't presenting itself. "I'm... sorry you feel that way, Alex," Gunner began. "I truly am." The fact that he no longer had a best friend was beginning to set in. "It's been fun..."

Sunken down in shame, the navy car turned around and continued to drive out of Alex's room. The doors shut quietly behind him, the hospital's peace returning once again. There was a certain gloom that made the steady beeping of the monitor sound deafly loud, making it hard for Alex to concentrate on his weakening thoughts.

The Mustang sighed, he was stuck in a horrible position. Now without a team, or any friends, what was there to do? He should have known that it would all come down to this, racing being everything and nothing more.

No matter how many times he had seen it, he never believed it could happen to him. Teams breaking up, and friendships lost over races. But it was different when it happened to him, this was real. He could never imagine himself being in a wreck and ending up like this.

Though the more he thought about it, the more he became scared. The conclusion that racing might not ever be the same to him after this was etched in his mind, starting over again seemed like his only option the more he sat there with his remorseful feelings.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brian slung open the double doors to his room and proceeded to drive down the hall. He was happy, very excited to know that his wife was coming to visit him at the hospital on her lunch break. It had been a whole two days since he'd seen her, and already he missed her presence.

Though he felt like that every time, every night before going to sleep. She was his world, his every thought and hope. Since the night he had met her at the bar in 1952, Brian knew she was the one for him. And now they've been married for years, something he envisioned in life.

There was a brief moment of pain when he was reminded of the fact that he had left Sadie alone for three months while he had been unstable, here in the hospital. That thought made his tires wobble slightly underneath him as he drove through the hospital's halls.

He'd have to apologize to her, there was no way he couldn't. He was more than sorry for scaring her like that, and he'd give anything to fix it.

Making a sharp right, Brian was shocked when he felt himself come to an abrupt stop. A slight gasp escaped him as he shook himself and saw a large navy blue figure in front of him with just the opposite expression, even after they had just ran into each other.

"Sorry about that," The car said, smiling. "I'm in a bit of a rush." Taking the blame was the least of his worries at the moment.

The car continued down the hallway, and Brian watched the car he had bumped into drive past him. The green car noticed the number 66 painted on his navy blue chassis, and a chilling sensation went through him when Brian realized what it meant. "Racing..." He breathed, still watching the car disappear in his mirror.

Though he quickly regained his senses when he thought of what he was supposed to be doing. A smile found its way to his grill as he continued on down the hall towards the lobby, Sadie was there waiting for him.

This time, carefully, he made the final turn slowly and saw a beautiful car waiting for him in the other room. He grinned when she finally noticed him in the doorway, nervousness overtaking him like always. That feeling would never die, he had always felt this way even after all these years of being married to her.

Again, the rest of the world faded out and all he could see was her. There she was, his everything.

His grin faded into a devilish smirk as he drove up to her and kissed her. Sadie giggled playfully as he pulled away from her and looked into her eyes. "How's your day so far?" He asked, parking next to her. They watched the other cars in the lobby drive around to their destinations.

"It's been good, work's just fine," She said, lowering her frame to the ground in relaxation, though she was anything but comfortable. "What about you?"

Brian glanced to his side at her. "Well, it's the same old thing each day. Get up, drive around, torment the nurses, make the doctors crazy..." He said, noticing Sadie's amused expression. "Though sadly, I'm limited to only two prank phone calls a day."

Sadie rolled her eyes and smiled, it was typical Brian. "Is that the best you can come up with?" She teased.

The green car laughed at that. "No, no there are other things I do," He assured her. "I never run out of ideas..."

Sadie smiled in return and looked down at the ground as Brian surveyed the room. The car was in complete bliss at the moment, thoroughly enjoying this conversation and for once happy with life. She was saddened by the thought that she'd have to take that away from him today.

She shifted on her tires uneasily remembering all the times she sat in this very spot. Remembering all the days, the nights, the endless hours she sat in this hospital waiting for an update on her husband's health status. Never knowing if he'd make it through the night, never knowing if she'd ever be able to hear his voice again. All those times she was scared and lonely.

And now, seeing his smiling face was overwhelming. What had happened was over with, but the pain would never leave. Tears threatened to escape Sadie right then and there the more she dwelled on it, even after she had promised herself she wouldn't cry in front of him. All the other times she did were different, but these tears were for him.

She was snapped from her thoughts when Brian began to chuckle. "Yeah, there was this one time--"

"Brian?" She asked quietly, surprising the other car. "There's something I need to tell you, okay?"

The green car was a bit stunned at the tone in her voice. It was giving off too many emotions at once, confusing him as to just what she meant by that. "What is it?" He finally asked.

Sadie leaned on his chassis so she wouldn't have to look him in the eye. "There's been... talk about you at the house, recently."

Brian was more than concerned, "What kind of talk?" He asked, allowing himself to settle down next to her. He loved having her next to him like this, though today there was no peace. What ever needed to be told could only hurt him more. "What's happening?"

She sighed and pressed against him, closing her eyes momentarily. "Bad talk," She told him, more along the lines of what to do with him. "There have been some intense conversations going on, mainly between Dave and I..."

Brian cringed at the mentioning of Dave's name. "What's he gonna do?" The green car asked, knowing very well he was in a great amount of trouble with him.

Sadie watched a car drive past them. Thinking deeply into this, she began to wonder if things would ever be the same between him and Dave again. "It's what he's _not _gonna do," She said, sighing once more as she reflected on their conversation last night.

That statement only confused Brian more. Was the car giving up on him? "What are you talking about?"

"He's... not coming to visit you. He says he refuses to..." Sadie admitted, now looking at the ground. "You don't know just how mad he is at you right now," She said, her tone stating she was more than serious.

Brian swallowed hard, letting that sink in. It was the truth, he knew it. He had done too much wrong, and there was no way of fixing it. And now he was on the verge of losing his best friend, the only car that would be there for him no matter what. Knowing that Dave wasn't going to come hurt more than Brian had prepared himself for. Though it was inevitable,_ that _had been expected.

Now he had done it, pushed the car to his limit and over the edge.

"Sadie..." Brian started, his tires trembling beneath him. There was the sting of tears, and suddenly he felt incredibly weak. "I am so sorry, for doing this to you. I never meant for it to get this far..." He looked next to himself, to see her staring at him with helpless eyes. "I love you so much..."

Sadie closed her eyes tightly against her rising emotion. "I love you, too, Brian."

Brian sighed, looking away, "I'm never gonna leave you, okay? I won't let this happen again." Right after finishing his sentence, a withdraw for liquor coursed through him, and he doubted if he'd be able to keep that promise.

"Do you forgive me?" He asked her. She nodded, and that's all the response he needed from her to feel somewhat decent.

"It's so hard," She started, blinking rapidly to clear her blurry vision. "Waking up in the mornings and you're not there..." She felt Brian press against her reassuringly, only making her lean into him more for comfort. But depending on comfort from the one who caused the pain didn't seem like a good idea.

"All that's gonna change, sweetie. I'll be home soon..." There was a moment of silence between the two as they sat there together in the lobby, watching cars pass by them. Nurses and doctors going to their stations, their daily lives. It was then that a nerve wrenching thought hit him. "You don't regret marrying me, do you?" He asked.

Through the corner of her vision, Sadie gave her husband an odd look. "You should know by now that if I did, I would have humiliated you, divorced you, and taken all you have." She said, shifting on her weight. There was no need to lean on him anymore, for she was beginning to escape her dreadful thoughts already.

"But that's just it," Brian started. "I don't have anything but you."

Sadie sighed, "What about Dave?"

Brian scoffed. "Are you kidding me? He must hate me, by now..." He said pitifully. The guilt was returning once again, and all he could feel was the regret of treating Dave so poorly over the years.

"Then apologize to him, Brian. You've given me your love, and that's all I've ever asked of you," She started. "And I'm not gonna say it again, make things right with Dave or nothing will get better..." Sadie said as she started to caress his fender with her tire. Gentle, but with meaning. She did it soothingly in an attempt to calm him down and rescue him from his troubles, knowing very well her husband had difficulty talking about Dave.

"It's not that simple, baby," He said, sinking down on his tires and leaning in towards her touch. "I, I mean I wouldn't know what to say to him..." Brian felt horrible about everything he had said and done to that car all this time. And because of that, he really didn't know how he could ever apologize to him.

"Yes, he's angry with you," She said. "But things won't get better unless you want them to, and I'm sure you know that by now. Dave's been more than willing to help you, but you shove him away."

Brian let out a ragged sigh. "It's just I feel so helpless around him, so weak an inferior. He's a better car than me, he always has been. And I've let him down too many times to just say _sorry _and _move on_..." He glared at the wall across the room, trying his hardest to figure out how to express the way things were. "Every time I'm around him, it's like an impulse to just be mean. I don't want to, but you'll never know how bad I feel afterwards..."

Sadie continued to caress his fender, letting him talk.

"I'm sorry for everything," He said, but he wouldn't let Dave know that. There was too much pain every time Brian talked to him, something that would never go away. There was a constant depression between them, and Brian's only conclusion for it was because of what happened years ago.

He knew it wasn't the other car's fault, he knew that very well. But he couldn't figure out what was stopping himself from making things right with Dave. He was wasting his life, Dave's life, and everyone else's by still drinking, though no matter how hard he tried he couldn't bring himself to stop. And he was a fool to still hold onto that as an excuse for making the maroon car's life miserable.

Fixing this problem was beyond his control, something he'd need more than just encouragement. The day he'd see Dave again would tear him down, seeing the hurt look in that car's eyes could do incredible damage to Brian. Then, and only then, the urge to fight back and bring him down as well would be his own defense, though that would only show just how weak and vulnerable he really is.

It was then that the two noticed a large navy blue figure slowly driving towards the Freedom Doors from the main hallway. Brian recognized that car immediately as the one he had ran into earlier. But he had a feeling something was wrong.

Watching the car stare at the ground as he drove, Brian called out to him right before he left. "Hey," He said, catching the other car's attention. For the first time he realized this car had the appearances of his neighbor in the next room over. "What's wrong?" He asked. The bad feeling he got when he thought about racing was returning, and the other car was giving off a strong vibe of just that.

The navy blue Mustang stopped driving and sat there, giving the other car a concerned look. Wondering why he, of all cars, would care. His silver stripes shining brightly in the light of the hospital, but his high spirit had faded away.

Gunner looked at the ground, avoiding eye contact with Brian. "I just lost my best friend..." He said, glancing up at him. Finding no other reason to stay, the Mustang proceeded to push his way through the double doors and leave the hospital.

Sadie looked over at her husband questionably. "Do you know him?" She asked.

Though Brian couldn't speak. All he could do was switch into reverse and back himself up as far as could against the wall behind him, pressing into it in some sort of retreat. The car's reply had set off too many emotions, some that should have never been brought up ever again.

He wanted this to stop, more than anything he wanted the aching pain to go away. But the fact that he had done this all himself constantly nagged at him. "What would it take for just one break?" He asked himself quietly, noticing a trend in the recent events.

"Brian, do you know that car?" Sadie asked again, turning slightly to face him. She began to wonder what had him panicking now.

The green car gave her a look of sadness that could only be described as torture. He sighed, seeing the worried look in her eyes. "No, but I know who does..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Okay, maybe some of you expected this, maybe some of you were completely surprised. Though I've also changed my mind, chapter five will be rated M for Mature._

_But in the meantime, reviews would be greatly appreciated!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Welcome back, have fun with this chapter. I hope everyone likes this one as well, it's been nice getting back into writing. I'm not moving along in the plot as fast, because I'm busy setting everything up._

_Disclaimer: I don't know how many of my OCs are going to be in here, but I own them. So please don't take them! Other than that, enjoy!_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**CHAPTER FOUR**

_"Yeah, I've been working here for years..." Shane said, flipping through the papers that sat in front of him. He gathered up the work he was supposed to do, putting it in a folder so that he could take it back to his office. Cadence was next to him, doing the same thing. The two had approached the claim desk at the same time, and decided to stay and chat._

_But they were sitting dangerously close as they gathered their work files._

_"Oh yeah? And when were you elected apprentice?" She asked, reaching across the desk slowly to take certain papers. She allowed her tire to touch the corner of Shane's grill briefly, though the touch was lingering. Smiling at him, she loved his expression._

_"It's not easy work," He said, inching his chassis closer to hers. "It took me a long, long time to--"_

_"Shane!" A voice from behind him snapped._

_The car winced at his name being called so sharply. "Yes, Dave?" He asked harshly, turning around to face his boss. The maroon car was leaning against the doorway to his office with a not so pleased looked. "What is it?"_

_"Your wife's on line two..." He told him before turning around to go back to his desk._

_"Wife?" Cadence asked, now a bit agitated. "You've got a wife?" She propped her weight to one side, waiting for his answer._

_Shane sighed, knowing this was ruined. "Well, yeah, her name's--"_

_"Sorry," She snipped. "I don't think it's fair to flirt with married guys, it's wrong. Next time re-consider, jerk..." She turned around after gathering up her last few papers, strolling towards her office at a more than disgusted style._

_Shane sighed once again and frowned, turning his attention towards Dave's office. He grabbed his folder and rushed towards his boss before parking in the doorway. "Why'd you do that?"_

_"Do what?" Dave asked without looking up from his paperwork._

_"You know damn well what I'm talking about, Dave! And now Cadence is never gonna talk to me again!" He huffed, making his way into the car's office and parking in front of his desk._

_"And that's probably for the better," He told him, looking up from his papers for the first time. He looked at the folder his apprentice was carrying, and at his desk's phone. He noticed a small red light still blinking. "I suggest you see what your wife wants before she comes to the company, personally, to talk to you about what ever she's worked up over."_

_"She's just too jealous, I tell you. Too jealous..." He said, a sigh following._

_Dave scoffed and regarded the car in front of him for a moment. "Listen to yourself; think about what you were doing. I'd say she's got every right to be jealous..." He said, continuing to work on the latest papers._

_"We were just flirting, it's harmless." Shane insisted, looking around the room._

_This time, Dave slammed his pen down. "It's not harmless, and one day you'll figure that out. You just don't appreciate marriage yet." The maroon car knew that one day Shane would regret doing all this. He gave the car a sympathetic look, knowing he was young and stupid when it came to relationships. "You don't get it..."_

_Shane rolled his eyes, not appreciating his lecture. "She's paranoid, okay? You try living with her... you can't talk to her about anything..."_

_Dave sat back on his shocks. "And I bet you did that to her, didn't you?" Shane looked at him sharply, scared about where this was going. Dave knew he had got him there. "I know you love her, I know that. But you don't show it. So try working on that, and maybe she'll calm down." Dave was worried this would happen, he just didn't want Shane to end up in this bind._

_"Well, Cadence flirts with every other guy here."_

_"But that's them, not you." Dave cared too much for him as a friend to let it get that far. "And one day your wife's gonna show up here looking for you, and she'll leave you because of her. She won't come back..." That one hurt, Shane had never really considered the possibility that he could lose Allison. _

_"Do me a favor," Dave started. "And stay out of Cadence's way."_

_Shane sunk low on his tires before giving his boss a questionable look. "And just how long were you watching us, out there? When I turned around, you looked pretty comfortable..."_

_"Enough to know when to stop that nonsense."_

_Shane smirked. "Very funny..." It was then that something occurred to him. "Hey, Dave, how long has Cadence been working here?"_

_Dave looked up from the papers again. "Five months. Why?" Now he was curious as to what his apprentice was up to._

_"You think she's pretty, right?"_

_Dave would never admit that he thought she was gorgeous, but that didn't mean he liked her something other than a friend. "Of course, she's very pretty." He said, placing a folder in a drawer. "But she's nothing compared to Sadie."_

_Shane laughed slightly, he agreed with him on that one. "True, that's true..." He shifted on his tires. "But you can't have Sadie. And Cadence, you can..." He said with a small smile._

_Dave slammed his desk's drawer shut. "What are you getting at here, Shane?" The car had his full attention._

_"Dave," He said, turning serious. "You should really think about asking her on a date. I mean, you never know! It could work out!"_

_The maroon car thought on that a moment, because they had never been anything more than great friends. They could talk business plans for hours, and a smile would never leave their faces. They never flirted, they didn't have that kind of friendship. Their tires never accidentally touched, and there was no need to. They were perfectly happy being friends._

_Cadence figured out a long time ago that she didn't need to flirt with her boss to get a raise, or move up in the company's status. Another reason why they were such good partners on the top floor, because they could work without the added stress._

_"Shane, I don't engage in any activities outside of the office with my co-workers..."_

_Shane laughed at this. "I sure hope not, because we're all guys!"_

_Dave sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut up..." He moved over to the other side of the room and to the file cabinet. "Besides, I don't have feelings for her, and she feels the same way."_

_"She probably doesn't like you because you're too obsessed with work! Let her know the real you, see what I mean?" Shane reasoned, moving around random items on his boss's desk. "Who knows what could happen. And you two would make a great couple..."_

_Dave drove back over to his desk, putting things on his desk back to the way they used to be before Shane ruined it. "I appreciate what you're doing, but I don't need her to be happy."_

_Shane disagreed. "I don't know, I think it'd be good for you to have a girlfriend..." He started up his engine and proceeded to turn around. "I think I'm gonna take my wife's call..." Though in the back of his mind, he was thinking of ways to get Dave and Cadence together._

_Dave laughed. "You think? Damn, I'd be surprised if she's still on the line..." He watched his apprentice leave his office and disappear around the corner. He began to bury himself in his paperwork, like he originally planned._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Alex was sitting in his room, still thinking about the words he had said to Gunner. What he thought he wouldn't regret, the Mustang now felt as if he screwed up. Messed up everything he had, and everything he had known. Especially a friendship.

Gunner had been his best friend since the beginning, even before they were teammates. A sad thought to realize he had just ended such a thing.

It was then that Brian's words ran through his mind.

"You got that from a race you couldn't let go," Alex repeated, shifting on his tires, trying to sink as low as he could to the cold tile floor. The more he thought about it, that was the car's conclusion for the events. For once, racing had gotten the best of him. It was all new to him, his first loss.

"Two losses, you idiot..." He muttered. "You lost the race, and your friend..."

Alex sighed, closing his eyes momentarily. He wished he had that special can of oil right now, so he could chug it down and be knocked out for a while. Anything to escape his restless thoughts, anything to help him be at some form of peace.

If he could move right now, he would have already been driving after Gunner to apologize. He knew the navy car had plans of racing in the big leagues, and now there was nothing stopping that car from leaving this small town in South Carolina.

Alex was trying hard to avert his thoughts, though the only thing he could find to replace Gunner was his encounter with Brian. The green car had him thinking, wondering what he had against him. What had Brian so hostile towards him? Why was the car trying to avoid him?

There was so much that the Mustang knew about Brian's past, and so much that he_ didn't _know. Right now, his current mission was to find out the answers to his questions, wanting desperately to figure out Brian's problem.

_If_ there was any problem at all, for the car seemed to be in good physical condition. Of course, he was only going on the information he gathered the first night he had seen him. It was Brian's proud, and dominant stance that led Alex to realize a once great crew chief sat before him.

That's what puzzled Alex the most, why was the car in the hospital? There appeared to be nothing wrong with him.

The Mustang remembered the first story he had heard of Brian, it was at one of his first street races. Gunner was talking, telling him that The Fabulous Hudson Hornet's trainer raced on these very roads. It was the navy car's statement that gave Alex his spark into racing.

He already knew of The Fabulous Hudson Hornet, and what he had done. He never had any thought towards the greater car, the one who had taught him how to race.

Alex had dug through old newspapers and documents, trying to find everything he could on Brian. Surprisingly hard, actually; the Mustang couldn't find much. Though when he did, he saved what ever he could. Any piece of information was better than nothing.

There was a big question left for Alex, and that was why Brian had suddenly disappeared. Completely vanished from any records, newspapers and... everything. It was almost as if the car never existed. Why Brian had done that, Alex thought he would never know. Shrouded in mystery, to some degree.

The muscle car hadn't found a single picture, not a damn one. Finally he had given up on searching for them, and instead finding the cars that Brian once knew. Hearing stories of the great racer was almost as good as the real thing. Descriptions of his appearance and personality was all he had.

Alex knew his racing life, but never knew the car for what he really was.

And that was why it was such a shock for the Mustang, to see the car yelling at him in his own hospital room. He never thought the car was still alive, let alone still living in this very town. Now Alex had a chance to get answers to his questions.

Something else was bothering him as well. The tone in Brian's voice, during their last conversation through the wall, there seemed to be a trace of fear. Chilling in a way, yes, but it didn't seem to fit.

The stories he was told about Brian, were of a fearless car. A car that you didn't get in the way of, tougher than tough. More importantly, a hero and a strong individual. Just how exact that information was, didn't matter. Because that had been mentioned in all of the stories.

Though there was something missing, something terribly wrong to all this.

Alex sighed again, not knowing where to start. It was all a rush, losing and gaining something in return. A friend gone, but inspiration returning. Even that didn't seem good enough to balance those forces out.

Sharply, he took his gaze off the ground and looked up at the entrance to his room. The doors were being pushed open, and two doctors slowly rolled in to greet Alex.

"Hello," Brennard started, giving the car a warm smile. "This is my colleague, Doctor Colby. We wanted to run some information past you and know your opinion on it."

Alex gave the two doctors an odd look, not completely sure of Brennard's statement. "What about?" He finally asked, wondering if it was good news.

"Well," Colby said, driving closer. "We both believe that we should go ahead and do our next procedure for you. Doctor Brennard and I have discussed this many times today, and found no reason not to fix your driveshaft and exhaust system."

A gleam of hope, for Alex. That suggestion caught his attention, knowing what it meant. He'd be able to start driving soon, having his driveshaft fixed would allow his tires to roll and give him freedom. The Mustang smiled at the two, it was great news. Though he quickly lost that smile when a certain thought struck him. "Wait a minute, what about my engine? It's not exactly in perfect running condition..."

What good would a fixed driveshaft be without an engine to power it?

"We've done enough for now, temporary repairs that will support you for a short amount of time. Intensive rebuilding will take place later," He said smoothly, reflecting on their earlier work. "If you wish to wait until your engine is running healthy, you may--"

"No no," Alex insisted, cutting him off. He was more than ready to escape this room. "When can we start?"

"There's a room open, currently. We can continue with this as soon as you're ready," Colby told him.

"I won't be awake for this, will I?" Alex asked.

Brennard laughed lightly. "No, of course not," He said, regaining his seriousness. "Now, are you ready? This will most likely take the rest of the day, and we do not wish to waste time."

The Mustang sighed once more, being unconscious during the procedure would mean he'd have a chance to be relieved of his restless thoughts. "Alright, lets get this over with..." If anything, he was looking forward to sleep.

Colby and Brennard turned around to fetch some nurses. Soon they were beginning to set the muscle car up, preparing to move him to another room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

To Brian, the room suddenly got incredibly silent. Almost as if time had stopped, allowing the navy blue Mustang's words to sink into him. He could feel Sadie's stare burning into him, and he wished she would stop. As much as he needed her right now, he didn't want to bring her down as well.

The green car couldn't decide whether or not he wanted to be left alone. He'd never admit it, but Brian always felt scared without someone he cherished near him at all times. One of the things that made staying at the hospital even more difficult with each passing day.

Sadie let out a ragged sigh as she nuzzled her husband, finally realizing that he wasn't going to talk anymore. She had expected some grief today, but not this much. "Brian," She started, grabbing his attention. "I've got to get back to work now..."

She started up her engine and began to roll towards the exit when Brian caught her fender with a tire.

"Please," He begged, turning her around to face him. He noticed the desperate look in her eyes, knowing she wanted to get away from all this. "Don't leave, I need you here..." There was so much more he wanted to say to her, but didn't know if he'd be able to.

Sadie bit on her lower lip, distraught and feeling quite helpless. What would it take for Brian to understand her pain? "Sweetie, I'm gonna be late," She told him, but her job was the least of her worries. Leaving this situation was something she needed to do for her own good.

"Will you come back tonight?" Brian asked, hoping he wasn't driving her away.

Sadie put on a smile, even though she knew her husband could see right past it. "I was planning on it," She said, noticing Brian's unconvinced panicked look. "Just relax, okay? Don't worry so much, I'll be back." Brian took his gaze to the ground, finding it hard to look her in the eye. "In fact, I'm looking forward to it."

The green car glanced up at her, and saw the truth in her beautiful eyes. "You mean it, don't you?" He asked, feeling a bit more assured about all of this.

Sadie propped her weight to one side, giving him an amused look. "Since when do I lie to you?"

Brian smirked, things were turning for the better already. "Never, darling, never..."

They sat there, enjoying this brief instance of happiness together. Knowing that their love was still as strong as it had always been. Nothing had changed between them, and that kept Brian going. He sighed, sinking lower on his shocks. "You must think I'm such a pitiful car..."

Sadie rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed. "Enough with that already," She said. "Why'd you have to ruin a good moment like that?" Playfully, she pushed him away by his fender.

Brian laughed slightly. "Sorry about that..." He drove closer and kissed her. "I don't wanna hold you up any longer. Get going, I can't have you late for work."

"Oh, so_ now _you care..." Sadie joked, patting him on his hood with a tire. "Stay out of trouble when I'm gone, okay?"

The green car laughed again, watching her switch into reverse and head towards the Freedom Doors. "Sure thing, Sadie." It was always sad for him, having her leave in front of him each time. He pulled over to the side in front of the window, making sure she was alright until he could no longer see her. Each time he did this, the only way he felt as if he could protect her.

Brian whined slightly, seeing her disappear in the distance; she was officially gone from his view. He turned around and looked at the room before him. Nurses and doctors were still moving about, patients and clients were waiting to be called on.

Wandering around the hospital was what Brian did when ever he could, it occupied his time and kept him somewhat entertained. Though sometimes that wasn't enough, and practical jokes came to mind.

He was driving down the hall, heading back to his room when he screeched to a halt. The navy blue Mustang's words echoed in his memory. He remembered the look on the car's face, and the presence of racing at its worst.

It was then that he started to question the car's statement.

_"I just lost my best friend..."_

Brian's tires squealed on the tile floor as he slammed the accelerator, trying to reach Alex's room. Pain coursed throughout his engine at the sudden action, though the green car didn't care. For he had something to hopefully prove incorrect. More than anything, he hoped he was wrong.

He barreled down the hallways, turning sharply. A few of the nurses bolted out of the way, their girly shrieks almost overpowering the sound of Brian's roaring engine. Dodging trays, tables and equipment in the halls was beginning to be a bit overwhelming, though it was no match for Brian's determination.

He skidded to a stop at Alex's room, pushing his way through the double doors harshly. His eyes darted around the room, only to have reached the disappointment of seeing it empty. The car's worst fear had been found.

"He's dead... he's dead..." Brian breathed, sitting in the doorway. The machines were gone, as well as the tools. Almost as if the muscle car hadn't been here in the first place. That scared Brian, he didn't want it to end this way.

Brian sunk on his tires, letting his frame rest on the floor as he continued to survey the lonesome room. He began to regret yelling at Alex, being cruel and so rude to the car. If he had known it would've been the Mustang's last few days alive, things would have been different.

Regret continued to grow, and Brian found himself hating his actions like always. "Stupid... you screwed up again!" He yelled at the room. But there was no one to listen, no one to care. "Does it always have to be like this?" He asked angrily, slamming a tire against the wall beside him.

"Excuse me, sir, is there a problem here?"

Brian lashed around to greet the car that had the nerve to bother him. He sneered at the individual, glaring at him with cold eyes. "What's it to--" He stopped when he noticed the word _security_ painted neatly on his sides in bold letters.

Brian sighed, "What'd I do now?" The big sedan moved forward, disagreeing with the green car's tone. Though that didn't phase Brian. "You gonna tell me what I did wrong, or not?"

The security guard shifted to the side to reveal a nurse behind him. "This lady tells me that you were creating a disturbance in the halls, I've been asked to escort you back to your room immediately," He said gruffly, a bit agitated at this point.

Brian leaned over to look at the nurse, and recognized her immediately. "Oh, is this payback for the oil slick incident three days ago?" He asked, but couldn't get a response from the shy nurse. "I already told you I was sorry... damn..."

"Alright, lets go," The security guard said, reaching out to Brian.

Brian knocked away the car's tire with his own. "Don't _even_ touch me," He growled, pushing his way past him and making a right down the hall. One door down, he made another right turn and into his room. He backed up to look at the nurse and the security guard. He smirked at them as he turned off his engine and settled to the tile floor. "You can go now, I don't need to be watched after..."

The two cars left, and Brian found himself alone once again. That awful feeling he got so often when he was by himself was returning, and he closed his eyes tightly in an attempt to shut-out his thoughts.

Quickly, he turned towards his room's only window. Looking out of it, he could see the center of town. It was busy, this time of day. Brian could see many cars driving about from his second floor window, though it didn't matter. His room faced the west, away from the ocean he loved and once raced on.

But even the sunsets weren't as pretty as they could be, they were different from inside the hospital.

From the recovery floor windows, he could see above the entire town. The only thing that place wasn't good for, was peace and quiet. Most of the cars came there, or at least the ones that could drive. Though as much as he hated being alone, he didn't spend more time in that place than necessary.

It was always busy, and the cars in there didn't know how to talk normal. It was as if talking was a contest, and loudest got first place.

More than once, Brian found himself yelling at them to keep their voices down. It worked, because they were afraid, but it never lasted long. Pretty soon the green car's last resort would be to bomb the large recovery floor with laughing gas.

Everyone would be asleep, but at least Brian wouldn't be alone.

He sighed again as Alex came back into his mind, throwing himself into reverse and away from the window. He began to pace around the room, wondering how he could be so self-centered about everything. Not only to the Mustang, but all his other friends.

Brian let go of those thoughts, knowing Alex was gone and not coming back. Remorseful feelings were of no use for that car anymore, it was no longer needed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Okay, I think Shane looks at other women way too much. Oh well, he'll learn... And what's Alex's reaction going to be when he finds out who his inspiration in racing really is?_


	5. Chapter 5

_Okay, I couldn't stand it. I wouldn't allow this story to reach M for Mature; I'd hate to see it be put there just for a couple of sentences. This chapter has been edited, but it does have a strong warning. I say that, because I don't want any trouble. Erg, blame Shane for this; it was his fault! Hey, it really is... just realized that..._ _ Found a way to make Dave and Cadence closer..._

_Disclaimer: __I don't know how many of my OCs are going to be in here, but I own them. So please don't take them! Other than that, enjoy!_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**CHAPTER FIVE**

_He breathed in deep and opened his eyes. He was calm for some reason, which felt odd at first. Most mornings immediately brought up the list of problems that usually jump started Dave into getting ready. But not this morning, today was different._

_He smiled and looked to his right, Cadence sat parked at his side lost in sleep. Seeing her next to him made a hell of a difference, and the world seemed great for the first time in a while._

_The two were co-workers, and one thing had led to the next. At first, he had objected to the idea, something that he, himself didn't expect. But persuasion had worked it's way into his mind, and now someone he thought that could never make him happy, did._

_He hadn't realized it until the other day that he really did enjoy Cadence's company. They were good friends at the office, but he was nothing more than her boss. It never occurred to him that it could lead to this, and so much more._

_But of course, this was just a one time thing. This being something that would never be carried past a memory._

_And that made Dave sad, an unexpected feeling. But in the back of his mind, something was nagging at him. Something was trying to get through to him, and it was important. Though he couldn't figure it out. He let that thought go, because right now he had reached a point in life that he never expected to find again._

_He was truly at peace, and that was all he felt. Peaceful._

_There was nothing bothering him, nothing at all. And when he tried to find something, he couldn't. Not a trace of uneasiness, or stress. Dave couldn't find pain, doubt, or worry._

_Strange, he thought, is that possible?_

_But oh yes it was, and Dave noticed something else in that moment. He was smiling, still smiling. Could life be this grand? He wanted to keep this, latch onto this feeling of peace forever. Cadence had done this, had helped him reach this point of happiness. He couldn't tell if it was just the after effects of last night, or not. But that nagging feeling came back, and something was definitely there._

_Dave looked over at Cadence, watching her sleep. He listened to her steady breathing, and how she sounded so relaxed. Much like himself, for the first time in years._

_He scoffed quietly as he looked around his bedroom. Everything was different, this morning was amazing. There was no more gloom, or that cold feeling he felt most of the time when he woke up. Things had changed, and today felt wonderful._

_Sitting here next to her, he knew that she had filled in that empty space in his life. He longed to have a companion, someone to come home to at the end of the day. Someone to make happy, and care about him. But most of all, he wanted a reason to live._

_That void, the lonesome hole in his life was gone. That feeling of emptiness and distance he felt throughout his life had vanished now, something he could only wish upon. But apparently that wish had came true, because he no longer felt cold or alone. Cadence was here, and that was all that mattered as she pushed away those numb feelings he lived with each day._

_He was finally happy._

_Dave sighed and settled further on the floor, letting his chassis rest while he buried himself in these thoughts. She made him feel alive, and the room was beginning to brighten with the rising of the sun. And after he questioned this part of life, he knew he'd be able to face the day._

_That nagging feeling came back, and again he didn't understand it. The only thing that registered was the fact that this would all be gone after today, to never be mentioned again._

_He was snapped from his thoughts when Cadence's steady breathing cut off. He glance to his side quickly to see her opening her eyes. She blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear her vision as she looked around the room questionably. Dave smiled as he watched her._

_When she figured out where she was, she smiled and looked over at Dave. "Good morning," She said quietly._

_His smile grew bigger. Could he really be this content? "How'd you sleep, Cadie?"_

_She had always loved the way he'd say her nickname. "Pretty damn good," She answered with a slight laugh as she nuzzled his side. "What time is it?"_

_Dave looked at the clock to his left. "It's almost six o'clock..."_

_Cadence groaned. "That means we gotta start getting ready for work..." She said, closing her eyes again in an attempt to shut out the world._

_Dave sighed, knowing that he'd never mean as much to her as she did to him. He kicked on his engine and drove across the room to open the door. He drove down the hallway, leaving Cadence behind for the moment._

_Coming into the living room, he stopped in the doorway in surprise when he saw James. He forgot about him being here, what was he going to tell him? "Good morning..." He mumbled._

_James looked up from the morning paper and smiled. "Good morning, Dave--" He stopped when an unfamiliar car parked beside Dave in the hallway. He chuckled and sat back on his shocks. "Well it's about time," He said, looking over at Cadence._

_Awkwardness set in, and Dave found his smile fading for the first time. "James, this is Cadence..."_

_All she could do was smile, not knowing what to say to Dave's friend. But she was never shy, in fact more out-going than a lot of other cars. So why couldn't she speak?_

_James looked from her, to Dave, and back to her. He returned the smile and began to fold up his newspaper. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Cadence, but I've gotta be at work." He didn't know whether or not he'd ever see that car again, but he just started his engine and headed towards the front door._

_Dave didn't speak until James was gone. He knew that Mason got up earlier than any of them to go to his job. "I'm gonna take a shower..." He said, throwing himself into reverse. "Make yourself at home."_

_He turned around and started to drive down the rest of the hallway. He made a sharp left, and turned on the bathroom light before making his way over to the shower's nozzle. He made sure the water was just right before driving under it, taking his time in allowing himself to adjust._

_He closed his eyes and sighed, thoughts of last night running through his mind._

_Though he was startled, and quickly spun around to see who it was. Under the continuous flow of water, he could barely see the figure that had been behind him. "Cadie?" He called. "What are you--" But he was silenced as she moved forward and kissed him._

_Dave was surprised at first, not sure of how to react to that. But he inched backwards slowly, until Cadence was under the shower as well. He didn't know where this was going, but wasn't about to stop her._

_They closed their eyes as a stronger force of emotion over took them. A new sensation that would never leave them._

_She had began to kiss him, taking special care of their surroundings as she pushed him into the wall. And he responded in the only way he knew how, returning her affection the same way. He kissed her deeper, and very passionately. He understood that it was time to be romantic, and loving._

_Their tires shifted beneath them as they moved together in a set rhythm._

_He was giving this everything he had, and he could tell she was thoroughly enjoying his approach. Their engines grew hotter the more intense the moment progressed. Though the only thought Dave had was that maybe, just maybe, he really did have feelings for this woman._

_She was electrifying every single one of his senses right now, and knew there would never be another time like this. He was etching this moment into his memory, taking in how she felt and reacted to him. It wouldn't be taken any further than what was happening now, Dave knew that. That being why he was making the best of this, and for her._

_For some reason, there was a sort of seriousness to all this. Almost as if there was some sort of search involved, some sort of question that needed to be solved for both of them. Dave had this strange feeling, that in some way, Cadence was thinking the same thing._

_Dave started to surge forward, still kissing her deeply as he pinned her against the wall. With a rear tire, he pressed the nozzle on the shower and turned the dial hotter. Soon the two were engulfed in steam as they continued to kiss._

_Work could wait._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The outside world seemed to be so distant, in Brian's mind. He watched the cars intently from a window in the recovery floor. Something he did often when trying to pass the time. Though today was different, and right now he wished there was something to occupy his thoughts. More along the lines of happiness...

The Alex incident only reminded him of all the other things he had ruined in life. At least, when he had come to his senses, Brian thought staying at the hospital would be a good temporary escape from home. But that had been before Colby told him about the two month recovery process.

He sighed heavily and sank lower on his tires, still watching the world pass before him. Being a few stories higher than the rest of the town had its advantages. Like seeing the new construction sites, and the addition of buildings.

Life was changing, once again, and Brian wasn't involved. Stuck in the hospital from his own mistakes, leaving him to question more than he wanted to answer. There was too much time, here, and it gave the green car nothing else to do but find meaning to his own thoughts.

Trapped, more like it; a victim to his own conscience. Too many times he had shoved away how he felt and responded the only way he always had.

Most of the cars in the recovery floor had learned to leave Brian alone, instead striking up a conversation with the other cars around themselves. Avoiding him, actually, they were afraid of his attitude. The others who were enjoying the freedom from their rooms could only describe him as stand-offish, slightly cruel with a hint of wrath.

Again, the only thing Brian knew.

He couldn't decide whether or not he wanted to be left alone. Having someone to talk to could be valued, but making friends here is the last thing he wanted to do. Even with that as his excuse, it wouldn't do much good. With that in mind, he took that opportunity and quickly elected himself as the dominant car.

No respect gained, but at least they were smart enough to smile and back away.

Brian was brought back into reality by something unusual; the other cars had begun to quiet their conversations slightly, almost entirely. He could hear the main double doors to the recovery floor swinging shut, now it was almost completely silent. Creepy, but it still wasn't enough for Brian to turn away from the window and see what could have made such a dramatic change.

There was an engine, the sound of a badly hurt engine idling on the other side of the room. An engine that Brian had never heard before, and never wanted to hear again.

The entire room was cast into silence as others in the room parted the way to let the new car through, the squeaking sound of their tires turning on the tile filled the room. Watching, curious as to where he was going. Still, Brian refused to turn around and acknowledge the car's presence.

Everyone stared at the projected path in front of the orange car, wondering why he'd even _consider_ talking to one parked in front of the window.

Brian winced at the sound of the approaching engine, almost feeling its pain as it was finally shuddered to a stop. He knew the car was right behind him, waiting.

"Brian?" The car asked.

A sharp pang of remembrance stung the green car, familiarity of two lives clashing together. He turned around slowly, finding himself face to face with the Mustang he presumed dead. A wave of question coursed throughout him, wondering how.

All he could do was gape at the car in front of him, trying to find the words to say if there was anything at all.

"Yeah?" He stuttered slightly, shocking himself. He was always well spoken, even in tougher times. "What do you want?" He asked, slightly harsh. Though he wanted more than anything to have answers to this sudden surprise. Scaring the car away was the last thing he wanted to do, but this was almost overwhelming.

Alex was in a particularly good mood, considering his condition.

The Mustang smiled and rolled his eyes, knowing that he was finally having a conversation with his inspiration. But he decided to keep his questions to himself for now, feeling that sometime down the line, he'd get answers eventually. His_ interview _could wait a little while longer.

"Well," The Mustang started, shifting on his now moveable tires. "The doctors finally fixed my driveshaft." He began to circle Brian, enjoying his freedom once again. His engine gave off an eerie sound as it traveled slowly. Alex had missed the ability to drive more than he thought, never again would he take things for granted.

Brian watched the car intensely as he circled him, his eyes never leaving Alex's gruesome left side damage. As much as he thought he was probably being rude by doing so, he just couldn't take his eyes off of the mangled steel. He took in how deformed his chassis was, the orange car had the form of someone who should have been dead, let alone driving.

It was worse than he remembered from their encounter.

The Mustang came back around for the second time, noticing Brian's unbroken stare of his race injury. He laughed lightly and rolled his eyes, circling him once again. It was still such a wonderful feeling to drive. The car couldn't care less of what he was doing, just as long as he could feel his tires grip the tile and glide with the motion.

It was fantastic, and he loved it.

"I need some work, don't I?" Alex asked, coming back around for the third time.

Brian took his gaze off the damage, looking into the other car's eyes. "I thought you were dead," He told him bluntly, forming an irritated expression upon his grill. He was back to his old habits of defensiveness, resentment.

More like_ afraid _the Mustang was dead.

Alex didn't think too much of Brian's reply, for nothing could bring him down today. But he had stopped circling the green car, parking in front of him at the mentioning of that particular statement. "What made you think that?" He asked, honestly curious. He then laughed as he remembered a past conversation of theirs. "Hell, I was feeling good enough to fight you!"

Brian sighed, what would it take for the Mustang to leave him alone? "It's just that you weren't in your room, so I figured--"

"I was in the back room, the doctors decided to go ahead and do some more procedures," Alex said, cutting him off. The two sat there for a moment in silence, one waiting on the other to speak.

It was then that Brian could hear the pain in Alex's engine as it sat in idle. The Mustang's frame vibrated slightly, moving with the pistons in an uneasy pattern. "You know," Brian started. "With your... problems, you really shouldn't have your engine running." He winced again, listening to it. "Turn it off, you're gonna drive me crazy..."

Alex laughed again and did as he was told, finding no reason to upset the other car. "Sorry, it's just good to have control again." He hoped Brian understood what he was talking about, knowing he was obviously still here at the hospital for a reason. Another question that needed to be answered later.

Brian scoffed in frustration. "Doesn't that hurt you?"

The Mustang smiled at him. "No, the doctors still have me drugged up on medication. It's wonderful, I can't feel a thing..." Now reality was beginning to set in for the car, finding it a little awkward to have suddenly started a conversation with his room's neighbor.

Maybe it's the medication, he thought.

Brian looked around the massive recovery floor, seeing that the conversations of the other cars had not been continued. All of them, still staring and waiting. Most of them wondering why Brian hadn't began to yell at the Mustang for talking to him.

"Anyways," Alex started, regaining Brian's attention. "I'm only here for a little while until they need to run some tests," He said, referring to the doctors. He looked into his right side view mirror, his only good mirror. "In fact, my doctor should be here... very soon."

Brian looked around the Mustang and to the double doors, a lone doctor was pushing them open.

Alex laughed again, starting Brian's annoyance towards it. Just how good was the car feeling today? "Well, that was almost exactly perfect timing!" He said, glancing in the mirror for a second time to double check his discovery. He looked at Brian in front of him, the car appeared to be even more lost. "I'll talk to you later, okay?" He kicked on his hurt engine, Brian flinching along with the sound it made.

Leaving towards the door to greet his doctor, Alex called out last words to Brian. "Drinks on me when I get back!" He yelled jokingly, laughing down the hall.

Though it had set off quite a few senses for Brian, hearing that from Alex. For a brief moment, he wondered if the Mustang knew about his drinking problem. It was highly likely, because Alex knew who he was. Something else he wasn't sure of.

A craving hit Brian, stronger than last time. Knowing it was only week two, he desperately wanted to know when his self formed hell would begin.

He took his gaze off the ground, seeing the double doors swing shut at the last second. The doctor and Alex were now gone, leaving things somewhat back to normal. Brian looked around at the rest of the room and at the still silenced cars. He narrowed his eyes at the many large gathered groups. "What are you looking at?" He snarled to them, and like that they quickly turned around and resumed their daily lives.

After making sure he would be left alone, Brian sighed and turned around to face the window. He had some thinking to do, or at least_ more_. The visit from Alex caused quite a turnaround, which meant things would be entirely different from this point on.

There was no avoiding that car, either way.

It was only a matter of time until he had to deal with the Mustang again, and he planned on cherishing the time he had without him. Secretly, Brian hoped it was just his imagination at its worst, but somehow it always ended up to be true.

"Good try, Brian, good try..." He said to himself, staring out over the city and what lay beyond it. Not like it didn't always turn out that way, for excuses can only work for so long.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Dave, please, he wants you to come visit. You don't know just how sorry he is," Sadie told him softly, trying not to wake the others in the house. It was very late that night in Dave's mansion, and the teal car was having a difficult time convincing her life long friend otherwise of the current situation.

"I'm trying to enjoy my time without him. It's been good not having any arguments around here..." Dave snarled, not bothering to look her direction. He was startled by the returned silence, quickly cutting his gaze towards the direction of her presence hoping he hadn't offended her.

The room was dark, a small reading lamp in the corner their only light. Everyone else had gone to bed hours before, that being a concern. It left the two to have a whispered conversation in the living room.

Both cars struggling in the discussion, but Sadie had no other choice. She needed to talk to him about Brian, she desperately needed him to listen to what she had to say. Sadie sighed and sank lower on her tires, finding her next choice of words.

Though Dave was still worried about what he had said; he'd let go of his anger tonight for her, and _only _her. All these years, she had been the bridge between him and Brian, a savior for both of them. A softer, less stern expression filled Dave's grill as he peered into the darkness and into Sadie's eyes.

He'd finish this conversation, even if it took all night. "Sadie, you know I keep fighting because I care," He said, lowering his frame to the floor in an attempt to relax. Something told him that his friend wasn't angry with him, but rather understood his side of the story completely. "I've always cared..."

A gleam of hope struck Sadie, she had broken the wall he had put up tonight. "And I appreciate that, Dave, I really do. I know you don't have to," She told him. "Because if it wasn't for you, I don't think I could have made it by myself all these years..."

Dave once more looked in Sadie's direction, grateful that he was at least helpful for something other than the company.

"I mean," Sadie continued. "I wouldn't have been able to fight alone..." There had been some sadness obtained when admitting that.

Dave perked up at her statement.

The maroon car could hear the helpless tone in Sadie's voice, another reason why he was upset with Brian. Why had the car done such a thing to her? It pained him each day to know that Brian was not only bringing her down, but James, Mason and Laura down as well.

In the end, it would be the strongest that would still stand. Dave was known for that, but a task so large as this one could only be held for so long. He hadn't wanted to talk about Brian before, so what gave Sadie the impression that it was okay now? It had taken much persuasion to get this far, and allowing her to win wasn't an option.

With or without Brian, Dave always felt the same way about it. But again, he cared about everyone else except for himself.

He sighed roughly, swishing around what was left in the glass of his midnight drink as he thought on what to say to her. He had been angry at her for encouraging Brian to drink by doing it herself. Though he'd keep that thought to himself for a later discussion.

In a way, it was partially her fault. Her being the only one that Brian listens to these days.

"So will you come visit him?" Sadie asked, breaking the silence.

That question had stirred his anger again, and this time he closed his eyes tightly before answering. "No, I refuse to," He stated firmly. "That prick doesn't deserve the attention he's been given." _That _was something Dave didn't care whether or not had offended her.

The truth was the truth, but that wasn't the only reason Dave didn't want to see Brian at the hospital. Reasons beyond comprehension...

Sadie sighed in response to Dave. "Keep your voice down, will ya? I don't want the rest of the house to know our conversation..."

"Why, for what reason? It's nothing they haven't heard before," Dave told her, swallowing what was left of his drink. He took that chance to move into the kitchen and put his glass in the sink, returning to see a very shocked Sadie in front of him. Without the blinding lamp next to him, he could see her expression clearly.

"Oh, don't give me that look," He said. "They have every right to know what goes on in this house. From Brian and I having a screaming match, to you and I not agreeing on anything..." He was beginning to see more of Brian in Sadie as he finished his sentence.

"But, Dave--"

"I'm tired, which means I'm going to bed," He told her bluntly, moving past her. "Don't stay up too late dwelling on the problems your husband created..."

Sadie watched Dave disappear down the hall, waiting for the small click of his door being shut before cursing to herself. Resentfully, she too kicked on her engine and started to drive down the hallway to her own bedroom. There had been no reason to stay at her and Brian's house, now that he was in the hospital.

Why be alone if she didn't have to be?

Sadie switched on the room's light before turning around to shut the door. She then drove across the room to close the curtains, setting her alarm clock for tomorrow morning. Glancing around the room, she was looking for anything out of place.

Satisfied that everything was okay, she was about to turn off the light when a particular item caught her attention.

It was a cherished book, a photo album filled with pictures of her and Brian together all these years. She sighed and brought the book with her across the room to where she normally slept, turning around and backing herself up against the window.

Sadie flipped through the first couple of pages, reminiscing on great times and favorite memories.

She stumbled across their wedding photos, the pictures of their beautiful ceremony. She scoffed when a certain thought hit her. "Yeah, the wedding that _Dave_ paid for..." In 1956, her and Brian had been more than grateful of that, the money issues they faced had restricted both their lives.

Sadie realized now that Dave was the center of everything, the car that held everyone together. Without him, nothing would be right. Where would they be?

Dave had taken everyone in, providing Laura, James and Mason a place to live, asking nothing in return. She had known that all along, though up until now she couldn't organize her feelings into words.

A deep respect was held for him, she knew that. The car had kept their friendships alive all these years, even at the worst of times.

Sadie reflected on his and Laura's friendship, knowing that the two were best friends. The cherry red car was waiting at home for him each day with a big smile, wanting him to tell her how his day went. Dave didn't always agree with Mason and James; Sadie was too independent. Logical, when one thought about it.

Though lately, Laura had been too consumed in her own world to even_ listen _to Dave. Struggling with her second divorce, that being the reason she was sleeping in the room one door over. There seemed to be no time what so ever for him, now that things finally felt apart for her again. The maroon car left, once more, to keep everything under control.

Sadie sighed again and flipped the next page, seeing what appeared to be more happier times.

Enough was enough, old memories were beginning to take its toll on her tonight. She slammed the book closed and put it back where she got it, returning to where she slept. Clicking off the light to the lamp, Sadie could only hope their lives would once again be like her precious photo album.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The blinding light the recovery floor offered blocked out Brian's vision of the town below him. Night had fallen long ago, but the green car refused to return to his room and finally sleep. Why bother when there were too many things to think about?

Giving up, Brian turned away from the window and towards the late night crowd. Many cars had the same idea as him, though not the courtesy to keep their voices down. Noisy as hell, like usual, but he learned to deal with such a thing.

Just then, the main double doors swung open, and in rolled the Mustang Brian dreaded to see. "Stay still, maybe he won't see you..." Brian told himself. Alex paused as he entered, scanning the room for a familiar face. Finding who he came to see, he smiled slowly and began to drive towards Brian much to the car's disfavor.

"Great," He mumbled, sinking on his tires, preparing himself for a conversation.

Alex parked in front of Brian, remembering to shut off his damaged engine for him. "Hey, glad you're here," He said cheerfully, happy he now had time to talk to his idol. "I was just wondering if--" The Mustang stopped when he noticed the never fading glare Brian wore; he was no fool when it came to emotions.

"What's wrong?" He asked, inching back slightly. "Was it something I said?"

Brian exhaled sharply and rolled his eyes, cutting his glare to the side and away from Alex. "What makes you think I wanna talk to you?" He quipped, giving the car his famous stone cold stare.

Alex didn't know why he was more than shocked at his response, though he tried to play it off. "Well if that's how you're gonna be, then--"

"You're the one who keeps striking a conversation with me," Brian told him, sighing slightly.

The Mustang didn't have anything to say about that, finding it hard to come up with a reply. It completely ruined everything for Alex, wondering if it was possible for him to have a prick like Brian as an inspiration. The only thing he could do now was create a smooth exit, and leave before further embarrassment.

He looked in his side view mirror, a television set sat in the corner; he'd go to that as an excuse.

The muscle car cranked on his engine, letting its sound consume Brian. He turned sharper than usual, heading towards the other side of the room as steady as he could. Alex looked in his mirror, the green car was still watching him leave.

That couldn't have gone any worse, he thought, reaching a crowd of cars that were blocking his path to the television.

"Excuse me," He said, shifting on his tires trying to get their attention, rising on his frame. "Excuse me, please." The cars didn't bother to acknowledge him, instead continuing their conversations as if Alex didn't exist. That wouldn't do, he had to get to that television _now_.

"Well, I asked nicely..." He'd teach them not to ignore him...

The muscle car proceeded to assert himself through the cars, pushing and shoving his way into the crowd harshly. The cars bolting out of the way of the Mustang who couldn't care less about what he was doing. "Move it!" He yelled above their angry yelps of shock.

He finally made it to the television. A circle of surprised cars surrounded him, disgusted and amazed at his sudden actions. The room silent for the most part.

It wasn't like they had the nerve to do anything about it.

"Who has the damn remote?" He demanded, looking around at the cars with narrowing eyes. Something began to slide across the tile, and the requested remote found its way in front of Alex's grill. "Thank you very much..." He noted sarcastically, taking it under his tire and turning the television on.

Brian was just as shocked as everyone else, questioning what had just happened. Why that stood out to him more than it already did, the green car couldn't understand. Then it hit him, and it was perfectly clear. The car reminded him of himself, almost a little too much.

He would've done the same thing.

Alex flipped through what ever stations the television got, finally settling on a channel with a review of the race he missed on Sunday. "Oh good, the show just started..." He said to himself, still ignoring the stares. Acting like nothing out of the ordinary had happened was turning out alright.

It was then that Brian knew what he had to do, and this was his only chance. Something was telling him to change this, fix this before it was too late. Don't cause another mistake...

Pushing away begging memories, ignoring his nagging thoughts, letting go of resentment, slipping away from regret, Brian kicked on his engine, catching the attention of many others in the now quiet room. They stared as the car made his way down the already made path that still remained.

Brian turned off his engine, gliding to a stop next to Alex. The Mustang glared at him with a confused look through the corner of his vision, wondering what the hell he was doing after he just told him to leave. "Mind if I watch with ya?" He asked, giving Alex his best smile.

The muscle car was still skeptical, once again narrowing his eyes at the car he thought hated him. But Brian's expression was the only apology Alex needed, and he smiled in return. "No, no I don't mind."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Quite a turn-around for events, don't you think? Oh, and I told you co-workers shouldn't flirt! You know this isn't going to end good... You'll see what I mean soon enough._


	6. Chapter 6

_I had quite a fun time writing this, it's probably my favorite chapter. A little of everything is packed into this, just for you! I'm surprised how fast this chapter got typed, really surprised... But I'm sure that won't happen for the next chapter. Well, I hope you like this one!_

_Disclaimer: I don't know how many of my OCs are going to be in here, but I own them. So please don't take them! Other than that, enjoy!_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**CHAPTER SIX**

_Shane slammed the door to Dave's office open with a violent force. "Dave!" He yelled._

_The maroon car jumped at the sudden surprise, looking up at the car angrily. "Damn it, Shane, don't do that to me!" He then noticed his apprentice's worried look. "What's wrong?" He asked, moving out from behind his desk. A wave of concern overwhelmed him._

_"It's, it's Cadence!" He told him. "I think she's leaving!"_

_"Leaving?" Dave asked in disbelief._

_Shane nodded quickly. "She's packing all her stuff up!" He then drove out of the doorway to let his boss pass._

_Dave drove down the hallway at a brisk pace, and suddenly he didn't feel so good. Getting closer and closer to her door, he noticed that he hadn't felt this nervous in years._

_He quietly approached her door, which was wide open. She was turned away from him, placing things in a box rather quickly. "Cadie?" He asked cautiously, hearing a soft sob escape the car. "What are you doing?"_

_Cadence lashed around, and Dave finally saw the tears rolling down her hood. He was the last car she wanted to see right now. "Dave!" She said, trying to shut the door. "Please leave, please, just go away..." She begged. _

_But Dave put a tire in the door and pushed it back. "Cadie, what's wrong? Are you okay?" He asked, still trying to keep the door open. He finally managed to slip through the door and come into her office, careful not to hurt her in the process. It was then that she returned to placing things in a box, hiding herself from Dave._

_For a moment, Dave didn't know what to do. All he could do was sit there, and watch her continue to put her things in that box. But he wanted desperately to know what was going on, he didn't like seeing her like this. Never could he imagine someone like her so sad._

_He had caught a glimpse of her pain, through her eyes, and it gave him a feeling of helplessness._

_"Dave," She started, choking on her breath. "Just leave... you're gonna make a scene."_

_He inched closer to her. "I'm afraid that's already happened," He said, looking out Cadence's office window. "You've got quite a few cars wondering if you're okay." Though she didn't respond, instead she shoved more things into that box._

_"Why are you leaving?" He asked, she was getting closer and closer to being done._

_She shook herself in disgust, refusing to look at him. "I must, you see. I can't stay here..."_

_Dave tried to figure out her emotion, though no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find an answer. He began to drive up to her, slowly. He placed a tire under her grill, something she was allowing, and forced her to look at him. "What's wrong?" He asked, his voice filled with worry. He noticed that she was trembling silently._

_It was his eyes, that got her. She couldn't deny his true, honest eyes. She'd never forgive herself for doing this. Though she sucked up her tears, and tried to calm down. She knew this was going to be hard._

_Dave slowly put down his tire after making sure he had Cadence's full attention. "Are you ready to talk?" He asked sweetly._

_She nodded, and sighed roughly. _

_"I love you," She admitted, and she couldn't help but notice that set quite a few emotions off for Dave. "And I can't..." She had felt a feeling that she could only describe as anxiety and pain, when she was not in the presence of him._

_The maroon car was distraught, but intent on knowing just what the hell she was talking about. "What do you mean you can't love me?" A few days ago, he had forced himself to believe the fact that she'd never think of him as more than a co-worker, and move onto the next guy. Though suddenly, there was hope. But that hope was now crushed._

_"I can't love you!" She yelled. "I just can't!"_

_Dave quickly drove over to her office's door and shut it, to stop anyone else from hearing this conversation. When he came back, he was surprised to see that Cadence hadn't continue to pack. He still had her attention. "Cadie, you're not making any sense..." He said, sighing. His voice was beginning to shake._

_"My resignation is on the desk... I quit." She said, ignoring his statement. She was flinging books into that box from a nearby shelf. Dave watched this, he couldn't stop her._

_"Cadie!" He snapped, for the first time losing his cool. He was afraid of losing her. Now he knew there was something there. Something to chase after, and follow. That bruised hope. "Please, let's just talk about this--"_

_"Dave..." She said, parking herself in front of the wall behind her. "I don't want to talk... Because if I do, I'll just be doing more damage..." She dropped her frame to the floor in exhaustion. "More damage than I've already done..."_

_Dave drove closer, parking in front of her. "Cadie," He started, finding this extremely difficult. "I love you, too."_

_Cadence took her gaze off the floor and looked up at him sharply. Hearing that, she knew that she had done so much wrong. Though she couldn't stop herself when she impulsively kissed him, catching the other car by surprise. She pushed him across the room and into the other wall, keeping him there._

_She pulled away and was immediately met by his wonderful, loving eyes. What had she just done?_

_Dave managed a smile, feeling that maybe his hope would come true. "Does that mean you'll stay?"_

_The tears finally came back, worse than ever. Cadence threw herself into reverse, angry with herself and the world. "I'm so sorry," She said, barely above a whisper. "I shouldn't have done that..." She took another look at him, regret was all she could feel. "But I can't stay..."_

_Dave sighed sharply, he couldn't figure out what to say. "Why not?"_

_"Because, Dave, I'm not the type that can have a happy relationship without ruining it! I'm not worth your time, or your trust, or anything!" She began to pace around the room, thinking it might help her in some way._

_The maroon car moved forward off the wall slightly, still trying to figure her out. "You're not willing to try?" He asked._

_"Dave," She said, glaring at him. "I'll bring you down, and ruin you. I will hurt you, okay?" She stopped pacing and turned towards him, glaring with hatred. "I'm not a good car," She said, not expecting him to understand. As expected, Dave was confused. All he could do was stare at her. "I can't stay here, I've gotta leave before I--"_

_"Please," Dave started. "Just give this a chance." He knew by how she was reacting to all this, that she had never been in love before. He knew she was scared. Even though he had felt love, nothing could ever compare to what she meant to him. That being the reason why he couldn't let her go without knowing if they could be together. "You say that you'll screw this up, but you don't know until you try."_

_Dave's words were eating her alive. How could she have let it get this far? "This was supposed to be a one time thing, and now I've got myself into a position I can't get out of!" She hated Shane right now. Because of him, she was causing too much pain._

_She looked at the clock on the wall. "I've gotta go, I've gotta get outta here." She turned around and went to open the door when Dave drove in front of her, blocking her path. "Move," She said, still trying to run and escape from her life. "Just throw away my things, I don't want them anymore..."_

_Dave sighed and backed out of her way._

_The door was flung open, and she could see multiple cars watching her every move. She could care less if they had heard their argument._

_Turning back one last time, Cadence faced the maroon car that sat in her office's doorway. She closed her eyes momentarily, knowing that this would be the last time she'd see him. "Dave, I will always love you. I won't forget about you..." She sighed and started to drive towards the elevators._

_Dave still sat there in astonishment. The world around him felt like it was caving in as he looked around the room at all the cars. He singled out Shane, and gave him a desperate look._

_"Don't just sit there," Shane said. "Go get her!"_

_That was all the car needed to hear before he kicked on his engine, driving down the isle as fast as he could even though racing time was not one of his strongest points. But damn it, he was trying. His tires gripped the tile the best they could, carrying him faster and faster. _

_Reaching the second elevator, he rushed inside and pressed the lobby button. "C'mon, c'mon!" He said, watching the level of floors decrease at what seemed to be too long of a time._

_He finally reached the main floor, waiting for the elevator doors to open. Dave plowed through the cars, making his way to the front of the building. His surroundings were nothing to him as he burst through the large double doors._

_He came to an abrupt stop, met with a lonely silence as he sat there. He looked around erratically, trying to find the red and black car who meant more than life to him. Though she was no where to be seen, not even the smell of burnt rubber._

_Dave watched traffic on a nearby highway pass by him, it seemed so distant._

_The nagging feeling he thought he'd never understand, finally made sense. It was perfectly clear, and he was mad at why he couldn't figure it out before. Something had been trying to warn him of this all along._

_Dave sighed sadly and let his frame drop to the pavement, trying hard to fight the depressing feeling that was beginning to set in. The only thing that had ever meant something to him was now gone for good, and that thought only became increasingly true._

_He closed his eyes, knowing that things would go back to the way they were before Cadence had came into his life._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The security guard wheeled around a sharp turn at more than normal speed, pushing the pedal harder as he neared a blinking alarm light at the end of the hall. His shifting engine and louder than necessary sirens echoed throughout that particular floor of the hospital.

Something caught his attention, something he was glad he remembered. He was approaching a door that had trouble written all over it.

The security guard slammed on his brakes, stopping just before he reached the door panel of the room he deemed skeptical. Relieved, he sighed to himself.

The sedan switched off his sirens, allowing his revolving lights to stay on. He had a bad feeling that something was wrong, knowing this was the exact place where oil had been thrown out in front of him once before. Same situation, and apparently he was the same victim.

He knew the cars behind the act, making a careful note to avoid them as much as possible afterwards.

Inching forward slightly, he tried to catch any movement that the room near his right had anyone in it. Oddly enough, there was no other sound besides his own idling engine, no clues to another car in that room. Light flooded out from the doorway, making it impossible for any shadows to disappear and escape his vision.

The still blinking alarm at the end of the hallway brought him back to his main concern, and the sedan knew it was more than likely a trick the same as last's. But he could be wrong, and this _was_ his job... He'd have to find out what the emergency was about.

The security guard started to race towards the light, moving down the hall at a fast pace, satisfied with his brief investigation.

At last second, the sedan saw the oil can flung out from the room's doorway as if everything was in slow motion. It was too late, though slamming on the brakes was his reaction to it all. He found himself skidding across the tile on what felt like a blanket of oil.

"Damn it!" He yelled, trying his best to regain control as he fish-tailed down the straightaway. Two unseen cars erupted into laughter, and the security guard knew he'd been tricked again. He tilted his weight to the side in an attempt to pull himself away from the oncoming wall. His left side only inches from collision.

The outrageous laughter calmed into loud snickers. The sedan's suspicion about the room turned out to be correct as two figures poked their grills out into the hallway to see the chaos they created. The sight they were met with only made them laugh harder, the two practically falling to the floor on their chassis.

At the end of a twenty foot oil slick sat a furious car slipping and sliding on his tires.

Alex nudged Brian with one tire as he caught his breath. "Man, we got him _good_!"

Brian laughed, nodding in approval. "Just look at him struggle!"

The sedan was having a more than difficult time trying to head towards the two. No matter what he did, it was of no use. "I'll get you two!" He yelled, changing his tactics in coordination. Maneuvering this time was just as frustrating as the last. Just as embarrassing as well.

"Hey!" A deeper, much stronger sounding voice boomed from the right of Brian and Alex. The two looked that way simultaneously, seeing another very large security guard sitting at the other end of the hallway, obviously just arriving at the scene. It didn't take him long to figure out the situation.

Brian scoffed and rolled his eyes. "It won't be too hard to elude him," He told Alex, who agreed.

It was then that the second security guard started to roll towards the two, carefully making his way around the start of the mess.

Brian and Alex bolted out of the room, driving away from the mobile security guard as fast as they could. They made their way down the winding oil slicked hallway, paying close attention to where they put their tires. The still fighting sedan was coming up quickly in front of them.

"Make sure you get this cleaned up!" Alex mocked, making a sharp right around the corner.

Brian laughed inwardly, following suit. "Yeah, it's quite the hazard!"

The two drove down the current hallway side by side.

The Mustang looked in his mirror, the new security guard was right behind them. "What do we do now?" He asked as they took a left into a different hallway.

Brian swerved out of the way of a patient just in time. "I dunno, they're getting smart! What's one place we haven't been?"

Alex dodged a couple of machines on his side of the hallway, checking his mirror once more to see if the sedan was still there. "Rooftop?"

"Let's go!"

They made some more turns before heading towards another division of the hospital. It was an interesting trip, trying to get to the rooftop, but nothing so serious to asking a nurse for directions for their little getaway. A few more hallways, and they had finally made it to the top floor.

"I think this is it," Alex said as the two slowed to a stop in front of a large metal door.

Brian looked at the sign above it. "What gave you that idea?" He asked, pushing the door open and proceeding to drive through. A huge gust of wind caught him by surprise as he continued to drive outside. "Damn windy out here..."

The two couldn't remember the last time they were outside.

Alex, amused, laughed at Brian's statement. "I'll say..." He drove out towards the middle of the large rooftop, stopping to enjoy such a strong continuous breeze. The rooftop was like one big room with no walls. And beyond that, miles upon miles of emptiness. High in the sky, above everything.

Endless.

Alex turned to face him, giving the car a puzzled expression. "Hey, how long have we been here?"

The green car took his gaze off his surroundings and at his friend, that question had never really been thought about before. Or at least not by the other car; Brian was counting down the number of weeks he had until he was free. "I think, maybe, almost a month. Why do you ask?"

"How come we never thought of this sooner?"

Brian turned away from Alex and started to drive towards the nearest ledge, the gravel shifting beneath his tires and weight. "We were dumb not to..." An aching withdraw for liquor struck his engine unexpectedly, causing him to jerk in pain. Scared, he checked his mirrors to see if Alex had noticed.

The orange car still not knowing why he was here in the hospital. Somehow he managed to avoid this conversation with him.

Thankfully, he hadn't. The hospital was getting closer to hell each day, closer to his full blown meltdown of cravings. It was steadily getting worse.

The Mustang laughed lightly. "Yeah, this place is pretty obvious," He said as he drove off to another area. The rooftop was covered in rocks and gravel, a few vents in the corners.

Brian forgot about everything else as he rolled closer to the edge, placing his front tires on the small raised wall in front of him. He peered out over the ledge and, for the first time in a long time, was able to see his beloved ocean. The dark purple rays of the nearing night blended in with the ocean's dark color. The long miles of white beaches stood out exceptionally bright.

The green car was afraid he'd forget what it looked like; it had been so long. Naturally beautiful, it held too many memories, which was why it most likely kept drawing him back.

He rolled back off the ledge, seeing his friend lost in his own world pondering his thoughts. He drove right past him, heading towards the other side to see the setting sun in the west. Again, he drove up on the ledge, placing his tires firmly on the small concrete wall as he looked over his hood and down at the city.

He gazed into the distant golden clouds, the wind sending chills throughout his chassis. Its consistent pressure against his frame almost moving him backwards as he let off his brakes ever so slightly. Brian closed his eyes, finding peace.

_Coward_

His eyes shot open and tensed upon hearing that, relocking his brakes as fast as he could. It sounded as if it had been whispered by the wind. He looked around erratically, even checking his mirrors for anyone that might've said such a thing.

He sighed and closed his eyes once more, hoping it was just his imagination messing with his mind. It had been disturbing, and the thought caused him to shudder. He looked around some more, trying to find a match to the soft, seductive voice who spoke, knowing he was very much alone except for Alex. He knew the Mustang was on the other side of the rooftop, busy with his own thoughts.

The wind still strong, pushing him backwards. He closed his eyes again, finding his peace. His surroundings were a little too overwhelming at the moment.

"Brian?"

The green car snapped from his thoughts after hearing his name being called. The tone in Alex's voice just kept reminding him of how much Colton lived inside that Mustang. He switched into reverse and backed off the small raised wall. His front tires hitting the gravel with a thud. The rocks crunching beneath him.

"Yeah?" He asked, now highly concerned with the way his name had been called.

"You okay?"

Brian forced a chuckle and smiled lightly at the younger car, moving over to his new found friend's side. "Just thinking," He told him, realizing that this friendship wasn't such a bad idea.

Then again, he was known for being wrong.

Though he knew one thing for sure, that this wasn't still about Colton, but the fact that the car had started it all. Another thing, he realized, was the fact that Alex and him had formed a similar friendship to his and Colton's. It had literally just dawned on him, and he didn't quite know what to think of it.

He rested easy, sinking low on his tires as he thought.

The only car he _ever_ allowed to boss him around and joke with, was long gone. But now, things were changing, and he found himself letting Alex take that position. The Mustang was talking back to him, correcting him, though it didn't strike him as a bad thing. They really were, good friends.

Would he allow someone to take Colton's place?

He was once told it was his choice to grieve for as long as he wanted, but he knew damn well that was the past. Sure, there was still the pain of losing him after all these years. Not just because of what happened, but the pain Brian helped cause _once_ he died.

He still hated himself, how could he be forgiven?

Brian could see perfectly clear that Alex was just like him before Colton's death. A happy, young spirit with a great life ahead of him. He made sure he didn't forget about the wonderful life he once had, so that he'd always know there was something better.

There was nothing holding the muscle car back except the situation he was in now, and the green car wanted desperately for him to know life wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Although he had a pretty good idea that the Mustang knew that already.

And he could be like that, he could be happy, if he could just let go of his denial of everything. A reassuring thought occurred to him, that Sadie would be coming to visit him tonight. He smiled, remembering the sound of her sweet relaxing voice when she told him earlier today.

"C'mon," Alex started, grabbing Brian's attention. He knew more about racing now than before he came here, but nothing about the car next to him or who he really was. "We should get going, it'll be dark soon."

Brian agreed, taking one last look at the setting sun before driving towards the door after the Mustang. "I hate these rocks..." He complained, listening to the way they shifted and crunched.

"Do you know what they're for?" Alex asked, stopping to open the door.

The green car pulled up beside him. "No, do you?"

"Not a damn clue..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The second security guard couldn't help but laugh as he returned to the scene of the oil slick. Looking at his frustrated friend fighting to stay still was quite entertaining, seeing him covered in oil because of his thrashing was an even better addition to the prank. The place was a mess; there was even oil on the wall. "Wow, need some help?"

All four of the sedan's tires slipped out from underneath him at once and he hit the ground with a surprisingly loud bang. Giving up, he let his frame rest on the floor. He glared at his co-worker. "No, you think?"

The other held back a snicker, seeing that this wasn't going to be an easy clean up. It wasn't very often that things like this happened, which made it all the more funny. "I'll be right back..." He said, turning in the other direction, glad he wasn't the one covered in oil.

He sighed, finally looking at the damaged he caused, thankful no one was coming down this hallway. He managed to get comfortable, knowing this would take a while. "I'll get you for this, Brian, I sure will..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, I get to meet Sadie this time, right?" Alex asked, tagging along at Brian's fender. He had heard a lot about her this past month. Every chance he had was always canceled due to some appointment Brennard pulled up for him at last minute.

"Yeah, you get to meet Sadie today..."

The two made their way down the halls, careful to take a detour away from the mess they created.

"What else do we got to do?" Alex asked, trying to find something to occupy his time before she arrived. He was more than anxious to see Sadie.

"I've got something that Colby wants me to do. Some stupid exercise that I'm supposed to do each day from now on..." Brian told him, pushing his way through the double doors of the recovery floor. Alex didn't question that, he could wait to find out.

They drove to a small sectioned off area of the room where other cars were working on engine recovery. Brian led Alex over to a treadmill built into the floor, a panel of controls sat in front of it. "I'm supposed to do this once a day," He said, pulling up on the large belt.

Alex got in front of the machine, looking at all the controls. "Well ain't this something? I've been in here as long as you and still haven't seen this room..."

"Plug in twenty on ten, would ya?" He asked.

"What?" Alex shot back, honestly confused.

Brian sighed and smiled. "Put in twenty miles at a speed of ten?"

"Oh, got it..." Alex fumbled with the controls for a few seconds, finding where everything was.

"What's taking so long?" Brian asked, wondering why he didn't just do it himself.

"I dunno!" Alex told him, darting his eyes at all the controls. "It's asking for a whole bunch of information like your weight, birthday, medication--"

"Never mind that, just press start..."

It wasn't too long before the treadmill was running the way Brian asked. The Mustang watched as the other cars in the section quit what they were doing and left. "Apparently we're still hated." Though that was a bit inevitable after everything they had done to them. It wasn't their fault they found everyone else annoying...

Brian continued rolling in place, not thinking much towards his statement. "Ahh, that's okay. We don't need them anyways..."

It was then that the double doors to the recovery floor were pushed open. A beautiful teal figure made its way through and parked at the entrance. "Brian!" Sadie called out as she started to drive towards him.

Brian looked into the corner of his vision as she was approaching him. "Hey, Sadie!" He was more than happy to see his wife here already. He turned his attention back to Alex. "Quick, turn this thing off," He told him.

Though the only response he got was a shocked look and an un-phased locked stare. "That's your wife?!" He whispered loudly, managing to break his eyes off the still approaching car.

"Yes, that's Sadie!" He told him, a little agitated. "Now help me get off this!" No way would he risk getting off the dangerous way.

Alex looked over the controls quickly. "I can't! Once it's set, it has to run the course!"

Brian scoffed at the stupidity. "Damn it, the moment my wife gets here I'm stuck on this stupid machine..." He tried to look her way again, but she conveniently pulled up in front of the treadmill for him. Alex graciously moved out her way, his eyes never leaving her. There was a certain unexplainable vibe she gave off, like a brilliant glow. "Hey, honey, how's your day so far?" He asked casually.

"It's been great," She told him, flashing her eyes at him. The Mustang couldn't help but notice this. "What are you doing?" She asked, wondering why he wasn't getting off the machine.

She decided she would keep any bad news from the house to herself.

Brian laughed lightly. "I'm supposed to put twenty miles in each day, something Colby wants me to do as a _process of recovery_... Damn that car annoys me." He looked at his stats, fifteen miles to go. "So, how'd you get back here?" He knew they didn't just let anyone into the recovery floor.

"I worked my magic and I got a pass at the front desk." She answered.

"Yeah, magic..." Alex breathed.

Brian glared at the car next to him before returning his attention to Sadie in front of him. "How long are you staying here?"

Sadie leaned over the bar in front of Brian and got closer to him. "How long do you want me to stay?"

"All night..." Alex answered quietly.

Brian rolled his eyes. "Alex, shut up."

Sadie looked over at the Mustang. "I'm sorry, who's this?" She asked, looking at the other car directly. She recalled all the phone conversations she had with Brian. "Are you the car I've been hearing about lately?" All the Mustang could do was stare at her absently, losing himself in her eyes.

"Yeah, this is," Brian said, answering for the car. "This is Alex." He looked over at him. "Alex, say hello to Sadie."

The muscle car was glad his left side damage had been fixed, though he was feeling just as worthless. "Hello," He managed, pulling off his best smile for her. She then returned to her conversation with Brian as the machine continued.

He was admiring her chassis when he was snapped from his thoughts.

"Would you mind not staring at me?" Sadie asked, catching Alex completely off guard. "Or at least don't stare at me like that..." Brian chuckled at her statement much to the other car's embarrassment. She looked back at her husband. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I do have to get home."

Brian knew Alex wasn't scaring her off, but that wasn't the problem. "Can't you stay a little longer? I'm almost done with this thing..."

She shook her grill. "I can't, but I'll be back tomorrow morning. Would that be okay?" A nod was all she needed before starting up her engine and placing herself into reverse. "Have a good night, sweetie." She said before heading towards the double doors.

Just as they swung shut, the treadmill shut off. "I swear it did that on purpose..." He noted, backing off of it.

But his comment went unnoticed as Alex continued to stare at the doors, hoping Sadie would come back. "That truly is perfection at its best..." He said, sinking lower on his tires. A certain thought struck him, and he turned to face Brian. "You trust her to stay alone?" He asked, thinking about how long he'd been gone from the house.

"Why do you ask that?" Though he had a pretty good idea of what the other car meant.

"Well, you know," He started, now cautious. "A good looking woman like her could have anyone she wanted."

Brian smirked. "You act like I've got competition..."

Alex laughed at his statement. "That's funny--"

"But true."

"Please, your ego is big enough..."

The two drove off into another sectioned room, passing a few cars to a place where they normally hung out on the recovery floor. "Speaking of women, where's yours?" He asked, curious.

"Well, with the life I lead, it's sorta hard to maintain a relationship. I'm at least gonna give her what she deserves, and I don't want to ruin it. If I don't have time for her, why waste hers?" Alex reasoned, parking near the corner. Brian did the same.

The green car agreed, it made sense.

Just then, the double doors to the recovery floor burst open, startling everyone else as well. The security guard that Brian and Alex pulled the prank on earlier, sat in the doorway. "You!" He called, pointing a tire in their direction.

The two panicked, kicking on their engines as the sedan started their way. They made it halfway to the room's second exit when the security guard threw an oil can under Brian causing the car to lose control. He went spinning wildly across the tile, bumping into Alex and bringing him into the mess with him.

Together, they hit the wall and bounced back. The room started to fade as their vision began swaying. Brian and Alex managed to turn around and look at the sedan. All the others in the room stopped and stared at the sight.

"Who's laughing now!" He called to them from across the room.

A furious car sat in the doorway of the recovery floor. "Henry!" The car boomed.

The security guard cringed and closed his eyes, not bothering to turn around. "Yes, boss?" He answered.

"You're fired..."

Henry glared at the two cars in the corner of the room. They stared back at him silently, waiting for the angry rant. The distraught car only appeared more defeated. He turned around and started towards the double doors.

Brian and Alex looked at each other, a moment of silence before they burst out into uncontrollable laughter.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

_I tried to take a break from all the deep thought stuff._


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry, it took a little longer to update than I expected. I had a hard time getting this chapter to cooperate and bend to something presentable._

_Disclaimer: I don't know how many of my OCs are going to be in here, but I own them. So please don't take them! other than that, enjoy!_

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**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Alex's form shifted slightly, wincing at the morning's light as he began to wake up. His eyes opened slowly, careful not to overload his senses with the room around him. He looked at the surrounding hospital room, the car couldn't remember a time like this.

The sun's early morning golden rays flooded into the Mustang's room from the tiny window behind him, lighting up everything it could touch in its steady progress of starting the day. "Overslept?" Alex asked himself quietly, almost in disbelief. He was always known for being the first awake, the first to beat the sun.

The car saw this an incredible change of events, and found himself completely lost. His eyes scanned the room, tracing the details of how everything had become transformed into tints of gold and yellow. The white walls and cabinets shone greatly, the tools gleaming where they sat.

The Mustang's orange body collected the golden rays of the sun, adding to his already bright appearance. The only thing not touched by the vibrant show was Alex's shadow, which lay directly in front of him.

He kicked on his engine and proceeded to turn around to face the window, hoping he could catch a glimpse of what was left of the sunrise. To his disappointment, most of the buildings in town blocked his view. Their windows reflected the beams of light, making everything an ugly glare.

The car had always disliked the city for that main reason. It was too busy, not enough space. He couldn't wait until he was once again racing and enjoying freedom. He wanted to feel the asphalt beneath his tires and the way the breeze whipped by him.

Alex found it overwhelming and reversed away from the window quickly. It was enough to wake anyone up. He headed for his room's exit, knowing that there had to be someone else awake at this hour. He'd go directly to the recovery floor, where he would usually wait for Brian to meet him.

It was fact that Brian was not an easy car to wake.

He drove down the hall, and it was surprisingly quiet. The sound of his own engine moving through the hall still wasn't enough to break the silence, even with a racing engine and bellowing exhaust system. An intercom of another hallway in the distance was all he could hear. He chuckled when he remembered all the pranks him and Brian used to play on the other cars, wondering what sort of stunts they'd do today to get them into trouble.

The muscle car took a right, making his way to the nurse's station. Once there, Alex saw quite a few of them; all waiting to be assigned a job. He smiled and nodded to them as he drove past the ladies and towards the direction of his destination.

Pushing the large double doors open, Alex made his way into the room. He was greeted by a few stares, but ignored them as he drove up to one of the cars. The Mustang wasn't entirely surprised to see that Brian wasn't here yet.

"Excuse me, have you seen Brian?" Alex asked the individual.

The car turned around to face him, annoyed that Alex was talking to him. "Why should I answer to you?" He replied.

Alex sighed, he hated it when trouble was started. Though to his own conclusion, situations like this only happened if Brian was involved. Granted, that wasn't the name you wanted to hear or mention around the others. "Please, all I'm asking is for a little information," He told him, knowing very well Brian's bad reputation was killing his own.

"I shouldn't have to give you anything. You hanging out with that car is bad enough!" The car exclaimed. "A horrible influence..."

Alex tensed, not about to tolerate those words. He knew Brian wouldn't either. "Listen, I tried to be nice," He told him, shoving him harshly with one tire. There was the short squeal of the car's tires on the tile as he locked his brakes out of reflex. "And I know damn well you wouldn't be saying that if he was here right now."

He backed away from Alex. It was true, he wouldn't dare say anything. But that wasn't the point. "Can't you see he's changing you? Look at what you're doing."

Alex stopped glaring at him with the mentioning of that statement, it brought him back to reality. He thought on it, trying to convince himself that he wasn't in the wrong. No, Brian hadn't changed him; he was sure of it. But now, after this, he was having his doubts. He was always easy going unless things called for other measures...

He looked back at the car, his glare returning once again. "All I wanted was a bit of information from you, and I got your attitude instead," Alex insisted, creating an excuse for his actions.

The car scoffed, knowing otherwise. "So I'm guessing that you don't remember any of the trouble you and Brian caused around here?"

"Of course I do, but we're best friends! What did you expect?" Oh yes, this was a _great_ way to start the morning. He found it amazing how easily things could change for the worse.

The car sighed sadly, lowering his guard. "Kid, I was here _way_ before Brian ever got to this hospital; I remember the day he arrived." This had Alex's attention, more along the lines of why this car suddenly wanted to talk about such a thing. "I bet you still don't know why he's even here..."

Alex rolled back slightly upon hearing that, it was a fact that he still didn't know Brian's reason. This conversation was just another reminder for him to talk to Brian about his situation. One that told him he still didn't know anything about his inspiration.

"Trust me when I say," The car continued softly. "That you're making a mistake." He looked into Alex's eyes, hoping he'd understand.

The Mustang shook his frame. "No, _you're_ wrong," He insisted, putting himself into reverse. He found this upsetting, it really wasn't him talking. "You're completely wrong." But in the back of his mind, he was wondering why he had shoved the car.

The car sighed once more, feeling that he couldn't change the other's reasoning. He'd have to find out on his own. "Brian hasn't been in here this morning," He finally said, giving up. "I think he's still sleeping..."

"Thanks," Alex muttered. He started to drive towards the exit at a steady pace, thinking deeply into what had been said between him and the stranger. Was Brian changing him? He shifted his frame, driving faster down the hall back towards his bedroom. Just let it go, leave that subject alone for now...

He wouldn't let Brian change him.

The Mustang quietly pushed open Brian's doors, poking his grill into the doorway to see his best friend still sleeping peacefully; the sound of a gentle snore broke the silence. He made his way into the room, studying the green car's form. He tried to keep his engine as quiet as he could.

This room was the complete opposite of his. It was dark and gloomy, exactly the way Brian wanted it in the mornings around here.

Alex drove over to the window, rolling his eyes at the sight. Apparently, the blinds weren't enough. Two large, thick sheets were draped over the small opening, covering and blocking out any light that could possibly escape and ruin the darkened room.

Without hesitation, the Mustang ripped the sheets down. "Time to get up, Brian!" He finally yelled. The light flooded in quickly, catching the green car by surprise. Brian groaned and immediately pulled his front fender down with his tires, shutting his eyes as tightly as he could. Alex wasted no time removing the blinds, letting more sunlight in through the pitiful excuse for shades.

"What the hell are you doing?" Brian asked gruffly, sinking lower on his tires. He didn't bother questioning who had the nerve to do such a thing, he knew it was Alex. "Don't you know what time it is?"

The Mustang smiled, peering out the window before turning around. That ugly glare still remained. It was a bit disappointing to see that Brian was turned away from it, for he would have loved to catch a glimpse of the car's shocked expression if he was.

"It's almost eight thirty; time for you to start the day and live life!"

Brian winced at the sharpness of Alex's happy mood. He sighed, this almost daily routine had to be the most annoying thing he could possibly imagine, but for some reason, he couldn't care less. "You know," He started, shifting away from the voice by the window. "Normal cars sleep in past eight o'clock. You should try that sometime..."

"Normal cars have schedules," Alex told him, driving away from the window. He pulled up in front of Brian, noting that the car had yet to open his eyes and greet the day. "You, my friend, need one."

Brian opened his eyes, though shut them almost instantly. The car's form was a bit too bright for him at the moment. "Who told you that?" He asked, shifting away from Alex. "I don't need a schedule... They only hurt you..." He thought about Dave, and a nerve wrenching feeling stung him deeply.

Alex nudged his friend in another attempt to get him moving. He guessed extra encouragement was needed today. The muscle car revved his engine over and over until Brian finally lashed out one of his tires in response for him to shut the hell up. Though Alex just laughed, knowing he was one of the two cars that Brian allowed to do such a thing to him. He'd never be on the car's bad side, no matter what.

He wasn't sure if that was a privilege, or not. But either way, he wouldn't complain. Alex, was _above_ toleration. He laughed lightly, knowing it meant they were best friends.

The Mustang began to rub a tire back and forth across the tile, a horrible squeak echoed throughout the room. "When was the last time you had a job?" He asked absently.

Brian shuddered at that, wishing he could disappear. He didn't expect that question to have that much of an effect. A pulse of regret hit him, adding to the guilt he felt each day like always. Sadie, he needed her now. The desire to have her by his side only grew and forced him to snap into reality.

Alex's squealing tire began to fade away as he started to remember everything he screwed up in life; everyone he had wronged and let down. He had pushed these thoughts away before, but for some reason he wasn't able to.

Fighting off the urge to call Alex by the name of Colton was already difficult enough.

Suddenly the hospital's cold atmosphere began to creep its way into him, causing him to shake slightly. He refused to acknowledge the world, he refused. The creation of this misery only made him want to go back to sleep and forget everything.

Alex was concerned and stopped squeaking his tire, now worried about his friend. He couldn't take his eyes off Brian's pained expression. "Hey, what's wrong? Was it something I said?" He hoped the green car was just having another one of his bad days. They seemed to be occurring more frequently than usual.

Brian closed his eyes tighter, still shivering. It was difficult to look at Alex, knowing where this conversation would go. He wasn't ready to talk about anything, keeping his past hidden from the Mustang was all he felt like he could do to protect himself.

He hated sorrow, and he hated hearing it in Alex's voice. He felt as if all he's ever done is create sadness. Ending it was his only option, he would not ruin this day for his friend.

The green car sighed and finally looked at him, giving him a half smile as if that could possibly convince him that everything was alright. "I'm fine," Brian said quietly, and it had to be far from the truth. He, himself, needed for things to be fine. It was only a matter of time before he'd be home, facing what he dreaded the most.

He kicked on his engine and started to drive towards the window, knowing that Alex was watching his every move, still waiting for him to talk. But he wouldn't, not now. The sun began to warm him, forcing his chills to go away. It was silent, for the most part, as neither spoke.

The question Alex asked earlier returned to Brian's mind, and he figured he should at least give him some form of an answer. "I haven't had a job in years..." He told him, watching the city life from his window. It was a good distraction, in his opinion.

Alex inched forward off the wall he had backed himself against, though kept his distance. The Mustang wondered if Brian needed time alone. "How many years?" He asked, trying to get this conversation going. Maybe talking it through would make a difference.

Damn, the car just couldn't take the hint. Brian sighed once more and leaned back on his shocks in thought. The answer had been burned into his memory, nagging at him as days passed by. "Since 1954..."

Alex was surprised by that and began thinking hard on all the information he had gathered on his inspiration over time. "But, you stopped training that year." The questions he had that still remained unanswered started to consume him. "You stopped training The Fabulous Hudson Hornet then, didn't you?"

Brian swallowed hard and nodded, knowing very well that the car could see him clearly.

This conversation felt strangely forbidden, to him. But it was now or never, he decided this was it. Nerve, he needed the nerve badly. "What happened?"

Brian cringed, he saw that coming as well. Still, he wasn't prepared. An uneasy silence followed, making the room incredibly tense. His mind raced with ways to change the subject. The green car needed a drink badly. He'd do_ anything _for one, just a measly sip of what ever could be found.

The cravings throughout the day, the withdraws and aches in the middle of the night were beginning to take its toll on him. If he could just satisfy the cruelty once, maybe the involuntary shakes would go away for a while. He was more than thankful that Alex had yet to notice this.

He had been sober for almost four months now, and three of those went by without him even aware of life. But oh how he wished he was still unconscious. Brian had one more month of recovery, one more month of hell. One more month of dealing with himself and dwelling on his problems.

Brian hated Colby more than he thought he could, for this. It was his doctor's fault, for not taking away the alcohol properly. No, it had been taken away all at once, just adding to the agony he faced every minute of every day. Getting a drink had been his main priority for quite some time, it was a permanent distraction.

He didn't know if he'd be able to make it through.

He felt weak, just thinking about it. He longed for that first taste, to ease into a state of himself that no one else could enter. Those drinks helped him reach that place of solitude. Where he could forget about his problems, forget about life and not give a damn. A place of... simplicity.

Those drinks, those years of continuous drinks had gotten him by.

Brian let out a soft whimper, knowing those drinks had taken control of him. They had been a part of him for so long that they wound up putting him in the hospital. He shook his frame in disgust. No, they hadn't put him here,_ he _had done this to_ himself_. There was no denying this. He felt even more worthless, having known this all along, and not done a damn thing to stop it. All he created was pain and suffering for the ones that loved and cared about him.

Liquor was a form of happiness at its lowest.

He had been selfish. Letting everyone down, adding to their already complicated lives. And now, the memories he tried so hard to forget about these days just kept coming back. It was because he was sober, aware of the world around him. His thoughts were clear, for the first time in a while, and he had no choice but to think about the mess he built and created all by himself.

When he got home, he had a chance to make things right. Though that was more difficult than it seemed. How could he possibly accomplish something so great?

Brian exhaled sharply as he remembered Alex was still in the room. He turned around quickly, seeing the orange car parked on the other side of the room, watching him intently.

"Brian?" The Mustang asked cautiously. "Are you sure you're okay?"

The green car's tires trembled beneath him, he fought to keep them steady. He remembered how he woke up that day, after his three months of sleep, knowing that Dave was the one responsible for taking away his list of contacts. That small sheet of paper held names of cars that would have been able to supply him with liquor.

He knew he couldn't call Sadie to retrieve that list, because she'd know what he was planning. It'd be even worse if Dave found out his ways of thinking. Again, the horrible feeling of seeing Dave soon just gave him all the more reason to go back to bed.

But Sadie, she was his life. Always had been, and forever will be. He'd be going home to her, and that's all that mattered.

It was then that his engine failure day replayed itself in his mind. The sudden shock of pain, the rising panic, the feeling of death. It all came back to him for the first time since it happened. The thoughts caused him to gasp, it was more than overwhelming.

He remembered the reactions of the others around him in the room as he hit the wall behind him. The world began to fade and black out on him, things started to tilt and rock as pain coursed throughout him. The last thing that registered to him that day was the sound of Laura's frightened scream.

And now, he was here at the hospital.

Alex started to feel quite uneasy, he wished he hadn't have brought this into conversation. "Brian," He stated firmly, driving over to his friend. "We should go to the rooftop, I think you need some fresh air..."

All Brian could do was let his chassis drop to the floor, resting as he considered the Mustang's idea. "Hey, would you do me a favor?"

This had the car's attention. "Sure, what do you need?" He asked, parking in front of him. Maybe everything would be okay after all.

"Do you think that, maybe, you could call one of your friends to get me a case of beer?" He noticed the Mustang's curious look. "Maybe something stronger than that?" There, he had at least thrown it out there. Having someone else smuggle in his own liquor was a big risk to take. He knew it was somewhere along the lines of illegal.

Alex scoffed, giving Brian a small chuckle. He wasn't oblivious to the consequences, and not scared at all. "Well, damn, that's all? Of course I can--"

"Absolutely_ not_!" A voice from out in the hallway boomed, Alex whipped around at the sudden surprise. The doors to Brian's room burst open, and a doctor rolled through. To his agony, it was Colby, who happened to overhear his request. "You will not buy this car any liquor, what so ever!" Both cars winced at Colby's harsh tone. He was more than outraged, he wasn't about to let this go to hell. Not after fighting for Brian's life.

"What the hell are you doing, Colby?" Brian asked, trying to keep his temper down. As if this wasn't perfect timing for that car...

"Excuse me," Alex said, cutting in. "But what's going on?"

"I don't wish to, but I will tell you," Colby told him, driving over to the two cars. "This here, is my main patient as you're well aware of. A struggling alcoholic, he is..."

Brian looked over at Alex and noted his friend's disappointed expression. He remembered telling himself that this happiness would end. He wished he never started talking to him in the first place. Up until now, he had been happy staying at the hospital.

Alex turned towards Brian, wondering where to start. "Really?" He asked softly, finding it hard to say anything else. He got a nod from Brian in return. Now the Mustang wasn't sure he wanted to know that answer. It almost seemed to hurt him, seeing the other car's pitiful stance.

"This car has been a drunkard all his life," Colby quipped, gaining a silent glare of pure hate from Brian. All professionalism had been put away. "And I'm not letting you, Alex, get in the way of correcting his awful habit."

Alex gave Brian a sympathetic look, but the other car didn't notice. He was too busy staring at the floor, avoiding any contact with him. If he had known this before, things would have been entirely different. Sitting with him now, he didn't know what to think of Brian. It felt as if he had been betrayed.

"Come, Brian, you have an appointment..." Colby said, turning around to leave.

The green car wasted no time in tagging along, he wanted to get away from Alex. Embarrassment burned into him, he didn't know how he could explain this to the Mustang when he got back. Thanks to Colby, he had a lot to make up for.

Alex watched Brian disappear as the doors shut behind him. He sat there in disbelief, wondering if this had even happened. This morning had hit him like a wall, he felt more than stunned. Everything was falling into place. He felt like a fool for thinking that Brian's racing history was overwhelming, now he had _this_ to consider.

He sighed and searched his thoughts. His inspiration turned out to be a drunkard. It was killing him, still not knowing how someone like him ended up in that position. What the hell had happened all those years ago?

His main question had been answered, but a whole new set of possibilities opened up for him. He feared that Brian wouldn't talk about this.

Their first conversation, if you could call it that, was back in his mind. The car's predominant appearance, his courageous and proud features began to fade away as Alex realized it wasn't true.

He knew now, that the fear he recognized in Brian's voice more than a month ago was real. That continually growing fear he thought he'd never understand, finally had meaning. "A reason behind the reason," He said to himself, letting his chassis drop to the floor. His new goal was to figure out where things went wrong for his friend. As if that were even possible to discuss now...

Now it seemed as if all the information he had gathered on Brian's racing and training history didn't matter anymore.

It took him a moment to realize he really wasn't himself. It was if he had lost all his independence when he came here to the hospital. Things had changed dramatically once him and Brian became friends. Now the words from the car he talked to this morning started to make sense.

His life outside this hospital seemed so distant, almost as if it never happened. He couldn't remember the car he used to be, and it felt pretty damn scary. Had he really changed that much?

Everything _just_ took a turn for the worst.

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A fairly large stack of paperwork on Dave's desk was dwindling slowly. He had been working hard all day, as usual, taking care of important documents that needed attention daily. They needed to be read thoroughly, signed carefully, and filed away properly. A lamp on his desk supplying him with enough light to get the job done.

The maroon car opened up his desk's drawer and pulled out a folder, placing a few sheets of paper in it before putting it back. Dave sighed heavily, losing himself in his thoughts as he took a short break. He looked at the clock, it was very late. The sun had disappeared a while back and his employees had gone home a long time ago, leaving the top floor of the company very quiet.

That was, except for one other car.

There was the sound of an approaching engine, one that Dave had heard for quite some time. Shane appeared in his doorway after turning off the main lights, closing up what he could.

"Hey," Shane said quietly, driving into Dave's office. He parked in front of the car's desk, waiting for him to reply. He had needed to talk to him all day, now he figured was a good time to do so. Work had been more than stressful for his boss, especially at a time like this.

The maroon car put down his pen, giving his apprentice a tired smile and full attention. "Yeah?" As much as he wished Shane would clock out, he was glad to have some company.

"It's way past closing time, I just thought you should know that..." Shane told him. "Go home, you've worked two hours over today..."

The concern in the car's voice brought Dave to attention, he frowned at him in response. "Shane, I'm okay. You know I always do this..."

He shook his frame, this wasn't right. He knew the car worked harder than he had to. "Please, Dave, go home and get some rest." Though Dave picked up his pen and continued to work, much to his disapproval. "Dave, I'm serious..." What would it take for him to understand? Though the car had his reasons, reasons he was aware of...

"Why don't _you_ go home?" Dave asked, signing a paper. The last thing he needed to hear was a lecture this late at night.

Shane didn't answer, he was determined to make the maroon car leave. He sat in silence, listening to the sound of Dave's pen as it was guided to many papers. The steady ticking clock was beginning to get annoying to him after a while.

It was then that he noticed a familiar book on Dave's desk. He leaned forward and reached out to it, using his tire to bring it back to him. Dave certainly didn't care what the car was doing, he allowed Shane to do what ever he wanted most of the time.

The tan car looked at the cover, it was his planning book. A small, spiral bound book that held everything in it. From work related, to personal life, this was his. Dave and him had been friends long enough to know each other's lives pretty damn well.

He flipped through the first couple of pages, skipping directly to the month of September. Each day had a long list of notes and assignments, meetings and business dates. Shane searched through them, there was nothing in here he didn't already know about. Most of what was written down had happened, or been talked through with him.

It was nice, being his apprentice.

Though something caught his attention immediately. The last day in the month was left completely blank, there was nothing jotted down on it. "What's this?" Shane asked, turning the book around to face Dave.

The maroon car looked up from his desk and at the item he was holding, freezing instantly. He breathed in deep and returned to his paperwork before answering. "That's the day I check Brian out of the hospital..." Admitting that seemed harder than he expected.

Shane regretted bringing that up, it was probably the last thing Dave wanted to talk about. He closed the book quickly and placed it back on his desk, putting it back where he got it from. "I'm sorry, that was my fault," He said, shifting uneasily on his tires. He knew that day would be hard on him.

Dave disagreed. "No, no it's okay. You didn't know... Hell, I should've told you a while ago..." He filed some more pages, closing his desk's drawer again.

There was some silence as Shane tried to figure out what to say next. He sighed, wondering where to start. "Listen, I know you hate talking about Brian, but--"

"Then why are you trying to bring him into a discussion?" Dave interrupted, signing some more papers as he went along. He tried not to show how uncomfortable he was in this conversation, and cutting the car off was his only choice.

Shane sighed, the car was right. "Again, sorry..." There was some silence as he thought of what to say next. Dave cared too much about everyone else. "It's just I'm still worried about how you and your friends are doing. I know you're having difficulty dealing with this, as well as them."

Well, Shane certainly knew how to be straightforward. The conversation Dave had with him at the bar came back to memory, and he remembered just how much the other car had cared all these years. He was more than grateful to have a friend like him, trustworthy and dependable.

Shane started up his engine, surprising Dave. He figured he should leave before he screwed up anything else. "I should get going, Allison is probably worried about me..." His excuse was true, but Dave knew otherwise. He switched into reverse and drove towards the door. "Don't stay too late," He warned for the last time.

It wasn't long before Dave could hear the opening and closing of the elevator. And like that, his apprentice was gone. There was silence that followed, it was almost deafening to him. He found himself on the last two papers, and was actually happy to see that.

He took his time going through them. There was no rush, for what was there to go home to? On the last one, he filed it into the correct folder, satisfied that everything was complete and ready for tomorrow. And then, he'd do this all over; a life that only he'd want.

Shane was right, he should have gone home.

Looking at the clock again, Dave noticed that everyone at the mansion would be in bed already. He knew for a fact that it was probably killing Laura to know where he was. He chuckled at the thought of Sadie trying to calm her down, convincing her everything was alright.

The maroon car sat parked behind his desk for a moment longer, looking everything over. There wasn't a single item out of place, exactly the way he needed it to be. He got his keys out and turned on his engine, driving out from behind the large desk and towards the door.

Once he reached the doorway, he turned around and began to lock his office. A moment of fumbling with the keys in the dark lighting, and he finally heard the lock slide into place. Doing a two point turn, he began to drive over to the elevators.

A chilling sensation caught him by surprise, and he immediately braked to a stop. He knew what caused that feeling, it was something he tried to forget years ago. The deep cold feeling turned into that of numbness, and emptiness. Much more than he normally felt these days.

A few feet in front of the elevators, Dave slowly turned towards the right. There was a darkened hallway, a hallway that held too many memories.

The car sighed as those thoughts consumed him, he could remember them almost too perfectly. At the very end, an office sat untouched. There was little activity there, just the way he wanted it. So far, no one was allowed to use that office as long as he was here and owned this company.

Dave continued to sit there, his idling engine the only sound cutting through the air. He could leave, just forget about this and drive away. But something was begging, urging him to move forward.

He looked at the ground, feeling quite a bit of remorse. The office at the end of the hall used to be Cadence's, a place that was full of energy and happiness. And now, the room sat alone, just how he felt. He had Shane to thank, for bringing her back into his thoughts.

It would take a great amount of courage for him to do what he wanted to do.

Dave let off his brakes, letting his tires roll down the short hallway. A moonlit window at the end was his only guide as he slowly, and quietly approached Cadence's old office. He came to a stop in front of the closed door, wondering whether or not this was a good idea. He could still leave... forget this... go back...

He gritted his teeth and breathed in deeply before opening it. The maroon car ached, he still couldn't figure out why he was doing this. It was a force he couldn't stop...

Flipping the light on with a flick of his tire, he winced at the sudden brightness. Though he stared at the room around him, he hadn't been in here since Cadence quit her job here at the company. Her final words replayed in Dave's mind, blocking out his thoughts as he drove into her office.

The walls weren't covered in perfectly arranged picture frames, the bookshelves were completely empty and gathering dust. A large desk sat in front of the window, it used to be covered in cute trinkets. Dave drove up to it, remembering exactly where everything used to be. He found it amazing how much he missed seeing them, and the car behind the desk.

Everything around him seemed to fade away as he recalled the sweet sound of her voice, and how she used to brighten up even the worst of days around the top floor of the company. He remembered the way she would drive into his office with her completed work, laying it on his desk in a proud manner.

He couldn't help but smile at her in return.

Dave chuckled lightly, knowing Shane was very jealous of her and the way she pranced from her office to his each day to talk and have many priceless conversations. The car had always been afraid of her one day taking his place as apprentice, no matter how many times he had assured him she wouldn't.

Though to her favor, she did much more work; and on time, too. She could do any job asked of her, any task. She was always up to date on assignments, occasionally helping him design future plans, and conduct important meetings.

Her personality got to him the most, everything was perfect to him. The way she held a conversation, the way she knew how to handle terrible situations, and the way she smooth-talked other cars into getting what she wanted. She was smart, and incredibly witty. Cadence wasn't afraid to speak her mind, which only stood out to Dave even more. Her confident attitude and almost constant control always snagged his attention.

He drove around the desk and rested his frame where she once had, settling on his shocks as he slipped into deep thought.

Dave could swear he still felt her presence, almost smell her favorite perfume around him. He missed everything about her. There wasn't anything that could change that or make those feelings go away, no matter how hard he tried these days. And now that she had been brought up again, there was no chasing her away.

Suddenly, he didn't want to leave.

"Cadie," He started, but couldn't even finish the sentence. His voice was gone, it refused to continue. It had always pained him to think about where she had disappeared to. He knew he'd never see her again, and not knowing where she went brought him down. It wasn't his fault, it really wasn't...

The only car who ever knew about his short relationship with Cadence, was James. And that had been by mistake. Dave didn't bother telling everyone else, because it wouldn't have been a lasting relationship. He had no reason to even _mention_ someone like her to them. Though to an extent, he felt bad for not telling the rest of his friends.

Besides, who said he wasn't allowed to have a personal side of life?

James had agreed, and respected his decision to keep it hidden. It hurt the car to know the reason behind Dave's sadness after she left, while everyone else figured it was something else. Eventually, the others would blame it on Brian for being so hard on him. But James knew, and understood.

Even the other cars on the top floor to the company were still confused about it, they never really learned what exactly went on. Although Shane, he was a different story. The whole thing turned out to be his planning. Did Dave hate him for it? Absolutely not...

A startling thought overcame him, and it surprised him to the fullest extent. That idea, was to find Cadence. At first he didn't know what to think of it. Dave made a decision right then and there. It _would_ be to find her, and see how she was doing. He'd do the research himself, and get any information he could on her current location.

The many outcomes of this played inside his mind, they were certainly nerve wrenching. Though living out the rest of his days without an answer, wasn't possible. He knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't.

Her words were etched in his memory forever...

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_Okay, I change my mind. This'll have two more chapters. But in the mean time, what did you think of this one?_


	8. Chapter 8

_Wow, this chapter took longer than I expected it to. But that's what happens when you worry too much. Hopefully you'll feel this was worth the wait. I'd like to thank BTTP for her very kind words. I'd also like to thank Robert and Sora for giving me the courage to pick this back up and continue. You two have given me much support and guided me through._

_Disclaimer: I don't know how many of my OCs are going to be in here, but I own them. So please don't take them! Other than that, enjoy!_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

The drive down the hallway seemed incredibly long, almost as if time was purposely slowing down so he could wallow in his guilt. He was scared, incredibly scared of the conversation that was yet to come. He mentally cursed himself for mentioning liquor to his friend. But it appeared that Alex would have figured it out anyways, even if he wasn't the one who came close to begging.

Brian came to a full stop in front of the recovery floor doors. He sighed and closed his eyes momentarily, letting his engine idle. "Don't say anything you'll regret," He told himself.

The green car knew he'd have to face the Mustang either way, there was no avoiding this outcome. Courage was nowhere to be found. He hoped more than anything that Alex would understand his side of the situation. Though in the back of his mind, he had always known that this was his fault. This was just one more thing to worry about...

Brian pushed the large double doors open and slowly drove inside. He ignored the stares as his eyes scanned the room, letting himself roll forward slightly.

Convinced that Alex wasn't here waiting for him, he eagerly began to turn around and head for the exit when the sound of a familiar engine roared to life. The same engine that brought back all the memories of racing he ever had. The ones that told him he still hadn't moved on.

He turned back around and saw Alex approaching him at a steady pace from across the room. Concern was etched on the Mustang's features as the car pulled up in front of him. "Here we go..." He mumbled, sinking as low as he could on his shocks. Not only was his courage gone, but apparently his ability to even offer his friend a smile.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Alex asked casually, trying not to scare his friend away.

Brian regarded him for a moment. They were the same in a lot of ways. Mind games were one of them, though this felt entirely different. He knew where these questions would eventually go, which is why a counter attack would only hurt him. To Alex's credit, he was off to a good start.

He found it amazing that he was friends with what he considered an enemy. For the longest time, racing was all he ever knew. Now he was sitting here with a car that revolved around such a thing. After so many years of pushing that out of his memory, he couldn't figure out how he became friends with him.

The conversations of the other cars began to fade away as he focused on his thoughts. Staring back into the other car's eyes, he saw too much in them. They were full of the emotions he longed to have. So full of life. It pained him each day to see Colton in those eyes. For the past month and a half, Brian was set on that belief.

"Colby was just being the usual jerk," Brian told him, driving around and towards the windows. That was far from the truth, he knew Colby was a better than average doctor. Though to him, it was always good to have something to blame bad events on. If it wasn't for him, he wouldn't be here to have a second chance.

Alex turned around and followed him closely, trying to figure out how to spark this conversation without ruining it. There was no need to rush anything, for the information he wanted so badly had to be gained cautiously.

To Brian's dismay, the windows were blackened. He'd forgot that it was near midnight. His excuse of watching the world below him from the window wouldn't work for him, he'd have to find something else to _keep his attention_.

But that was it, what could there possibly be? He wasn't friends with anyone else in this hospital, it would be beyond rude to steal the television from someone _just _so he could ignore Alex, and even if he left to go back to his room he was sure that Alex would still press what he wanted to talk about. He was trapped, forced to be here.

Alex stopped as Brian did, pulling up beside him as the green car parked in front of the large window. The Mustang could see his reflection clearly in the window, as well as Brian's. The rest of the room was blurred by the many lights of the recovery floor.

He turned off his engine and settled as his friend did. "What's Colby talking about now?" Alex asked, looking into Brian's eyes in the reflected glass. He wondered how long the car would tolerate this progress.

Brian found it odd that they were about to have a conversation using glass, though he wouldn't complain. He was grateful he didn't have to actually look him in the eye. He shifted his gaze slightly to the left to meet Alex's reflection as well. "He's just finding more faults." He winced at his own statement, feeling that his answer wasn't helping his situation.

Alex thought about that, now knowing he was here because of an addiction.

Brian panicked at the returned silence and tried to find something to cover his mistake, if there was anything at all. "He's just doing that so he has a reason to tell my friends I need to stay here longer." His friends, he'd yet to tell Alex about any of them. "But I'm not staying here past the set date."

The Mustang nodded, he knew that.

Some more silence as the two sat quietly together, barely noticing the many other conversations floating around the room around them. Brian focused in on the small lights coming from the other buildings outside the window, pretending that he didn't have a care in the world. He sighed and shifted slightly, it caught Alex's attention briefly.

The muscle car wouldn't play dumb and ask stupid questions. Sure, he'd toy around with different subjects, but there was absolutely no need to talk as if didn't have common sense on this tense situation. He himself knew he was smarter, and Brian knew that as well.

"Before you came here," Alex started, skipping lightly over the days before that in his friend's favor. "Were you keeping track of today's racing?" Racing, that's all he knew. Starting a conversation on another subject he knew nothing about certainly wasn't a great idea. Though he had no idea that was what the car was trying to avoid.

Brian sighed again. "No, I was not," He told him, finally giving in and allowing this conversation to continue. "I focused all my attention... to..." His eyes widened in shock as he stopped suddenly. "To... my friends." That had hurt him more than he expected.

"Oh really?" Alex asked, having not noticed the difficulty in what Brian stated. He'd take advantage of this while he could. "What about your friends?"

Great, just great. Big mistake, mentioning that. Now what was he supposed to do? It was true, he had been focusing on his friends, though treating them like they should be treated hadn't been happening... at all, these past years. Brian had been trying to make things right, but what had he done to change his ways?

"Well, my friends," He choked with a slightly nervous laugh, glancing up at his own reflection. How would he voice _this_? "You see, it's a very long story..." Indeed it was, a very long and agonizing one at that.

"I'm game to hear it," The Mustang noted, balancing himself on all four tires. He glanced sideways at his friend instead of his reflection, giving Brian, for once, the more dominate projection. "I've got nowhere to go, and no one else to talk to." He hoped this approach would work better than his other one.

The green car gave his friend a look of disbelief, he couldn't believe Alex had that kind of nerve. He'd teach him to do such a thing. They may be excellent friends, but this subject was entirely off limits to everyone, including him. "Excuse me?" He asked, questioning Alex's tone.

The Mustang rolled his eyes in response. "C'mon, Brian, what have you got to hide from me? You know I'd understand anything you have to tell me."

Brian looked away, that was also true. He trusted Alex with a lot of information. But some of that information had to be kept locked away forever. It seemed as if that was the only way to keep on living these days. All of it was too much for him. He wouldn't do this. He wouldn't let this continue, he'd just have to leave.

Brian suddenly kicked on his engine and started to drive away from Alex, leaving the car parked by the window while he began to move across the room. He wanted to be left alone more than anything, dragging his friend into his problems was never his intention.

The Mustang turned around to face the leaving car, curious about his actions. What was so horrible that he couldn't face this like a man? "Where are you going?" He asked, almost demanding.

That tone struck a nerve, one that Alex wound up regretting as Brian quickly lashed around, catching him off guard. He about had it with these questions. "I'd appreciate it if you stopped, okay?" He quipped as he rolled forward, raising his frame and forcing Alex to reverse from him. "I don't need your interrogation right now!"

Alex narrowed his eyes at Brian. "Hey! I didn't ask for the attitude!" His friendship with him taught him not to be afraid.

Brian backed away from Alex, returning his space to him. It was impossible for him to imagine arguing with his friend, though so much for that. Stubbornness was one trait they had shared from the beginning. He sighed and regained his composure, lowering his frame. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you like that..."

"Damn," Alex started calmly, shaking his chassis. "For a moment I thought I was gonna have to teach you a lesson," He said jokingly as he looked around at the rest of the room. Some of the conversations had stopped and most of the cars were watching them intently. Nearly all of them had been waiting for the day those two had a fight.

Brian smirked in response, at least he still had his sense of humor.

Alex returned to his spot by the window while Brian remained where he sat. He was more than confused as to why Brian was acting the way he was. Of course the car had his bad days, but tonight seemed incredibly different. He didn't want to feel as if he was being driven away by his friend. "So you wanna tell me what's bothering you now? Or am I gonna have to contact your friends and have them explain this to me?"

That sent a chill down Brian's crankshaft. He couldn't imagine how horrible it'd be if Alex actually contacted his friends. Worse, what if he talked to Dave? Brian started to drive away like he originally planned, this time hoping to escape his thoughts all together. Memories began to consume him again, ones that burned... like fire.

Alex quickly caught up to Brian, pulling up beside the leaving car as he continued to drive. "Where are you going _now_?"

Brian tried to ignore Alex and his presence. He tried to ignore those last few words, the ones that had echoed in his mind all these years. The ones he heard each night before he fell asleep. The ones that haunted him, tortured him. There was a sudden compelling urge to get a certain message across. "If you were smart," He said quietly. "You'd stop racing." That was _all_ he wanted to say.

The Mustang braked in his tracks, skeptically staring at the leaving car. "Stop..._ racing_? You can't possibly be serious..."

Brian stopped, turning around so slowly and remorsefully that Alex lost his will to laugh at his statement. The green car started to drive towards him, facing him fully and looking him straight in the eye. He studied Alex's expression with one of his own, a pained one. He breathed in deep and turned his eyes towards the muscle car's left front fender, looking over the remains of where the wicked dents once were.

"What's wrong?" Alex finally asked, highly worried.

Brian looked back up at his friend. "Weren't you ever scared?" He asked quietly. "Did it ever occur to you that you could have died?"

Alex began to wonder what Brian was getting at here. This time he followed Brian's gaze and saw that he was looking at his marred fender. "Oh, Brian, everyone dies!" He said. "I'm living my life the way I want to. If I had died, at least I did it doing something I loved..."

He'd probably regret it, but he had to say this. He felt that if he could get his point across, he would finally feel content. "Oh yeah?" He asked, regaining some volume to his voice. "What about Gunner? What if he had died instead? I bet you'd think differently, wouldn't you?"

A small pinpoint of anger boiled inside his engine at the mentioning of that name. How dare Brian bring Gunner into this. Though all of a sudden, his expression loosened as he considered it. What _if _Gunner died? That question was more than an overwhelming thought for him. That navy blue Mustang might've been out of his life for good, but that didn't mean Alex wanted it that way. "What gives you the right to talk about him that way?"

Brian scoffed. "What gives you the right to question my life?" His comeback was apparently enough, because there was no response. Only a confused glare of hatred in return. He'd have to stop this discussion from progressing any further, he didn't want to hurt this friend as well. If anything, this was the only thing he hadn't screwed up. Keeping it that way seemed almost impossible at the moment.

His friend sat back on his shocks, waiting for him to continue. He gave Alex an apologetic look. "Listen, Gunner cared a lot about you; you two were best friends," He said, closing his eyes momentarily. This was it, he'd have to say this now. "But trust me when I say that racing is a bad business..."

Brian's words had an icy chill intertwined in them that caused Alex to reflect on his life, and everything he had done.

"You wanna know something?" Brian asked as he glared at Alex, it gained the Mustang's full attention. "I had a life... _just like yours_." He could do this, he could say these words and leave. Just leave. Maybe forever.

The green car focused in on Alex's eyes, wondering how difficult it would be to actually admit this after so many years of locking it away. He closed his eyes tightly against the memories, gritting his teeth. He wouldn't let them win this time. "But I took it for granted," He added. "And it cost me... more than you'll ever know..."

All Alex could do was stare at his friend. He wanted to say something that could change all of this, he hated seeing Brian so pained. But he was confused, trapped. What could he say to him? He could only prepare himself for the worst. A deafening silence fell between them, and Alex found himself speechless. It was as if everything had been cast to silence by that one statement.

"I had a chance," Brian continued, opening his eyes. "I had a chance to get what I had, back." He shrugged on his shocks, giving his friend a look of sorrow that told him he gave up on life a long time ago. "Though you know what?" He asked, his serious tone returning. "I didn't take it."

Alex sank to the floor, breaking the uneasy stare between him and Brian. He felt horrible, why couldn't he have just let this go? Though something told him now was the time to finally ask. "What happened?"

Brian sighed, feeling defeated and vulnerable once more. He let go of the urge to fight back, he couldn't do it any longer. Regret and sorrow coursed throughout him as the memories finally worked their way back into his mind, reminding him of what he had and lost. "My best friend's death."

Alex took his gaze to the floor, nodding.

Brian looked upon his friend with the feeling of guilt; he shouldn't have said anything. They should have never been friends, for now he had said too much. How he had gotten through this, he thought he'd never know. "Alex," He started, his voice fading. "Sometimes the passion of racing can be taken too far..."

The Mustang looked up at Brian, the green car had switched into reverse and began to drive away.

"I'm going to the rooftop," He told him on his way towards the doors. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't follow me and try to get some more answers."

Alex almost instantly shook his hood at Brian's request, even though he knew his friend couldn't see his response. "I won't," He replied quickly, but it was too late. The double doors to the recovery floor had already swung shut. "I wouldn't..."

The muscle car's sigh was unsteady and broken as he turned around to go back towards the windows. He let his eyes follow the tile in shame while he drove, feeling he shouldn't have pressured his friend so far. Now he had done it, and all he wanted to do was help...

Alex parked in front of the window, letting his chassis rest on the floor. His questions had been answered, though it didn't feel worth it...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Dave? Is that you?" Laura called out from the hallway upon hearing the slam of the front door. She stopped in the doorway, losing her hopeful smile.

Sadie sighed and tossed her set of the house keys into the dish on the table next to the door. "Nope, it's just me. Sorry to disappoint you," She answered in her usual sarcastic tone as she lazily drove past James and Mason, making her way down the second hall towards the entertainment room to fetch a drink from the liquor cabinet.

Laura rolled her eyes and entered the living room. "I didn't mean it like that..." She said, pacing around the dimly lit room. "I'm just worried about Dave..."

"You worry too much," James said absently as he flipped through the stations on the television.

The cherry red car stopped pacing and turned to face James, switching her weight to one side. "Well maybe you should turn that television off and actually have a conversation with us every once in a while," She said, referring to the others. Though Mason paid no attention to her, and Sadie was yet to return.

"_Conversation_? _Us_?" James questioned, looking her way. To him, that made no sense. "About _what_? You know Mason won't have one with us, he never talks..." He turned towards Mason who was reading a book on the other side of the room. "No offense," He offered.

Mason only shrugged and continued reading under the lamp.

James faced Laura again, who couldn't look more unconvinced. "Sadie's new schedule is keeping her out later than usual, which means she's working double shifts and in no mood to discuss the latest neighborhood _gossip_ with you..."

"What about me?" Sadie asked as she returned to the living room, towing a midnight drink beside her with a tire.

"Just a second, Sadie," Said James, nodding at her as she parked beside him. He wasn't done just yet. The teal car grabbed the remote before he could notice. "And you," He added, looking in Laura's direction once more. "You're always... cleaning. I dunno, always doing something. You're the one acting like you don't have time for a conversation."

They were all very close friends. Frequent little arguments like these rarely had an effect on their tight bond.

Laura blinked at him a couple of times, curious about his attitude. "Did you have a bad day?" She asked bluntly, switching her weight to the other side of her chassis.

James sighed and nodded, sinking low on his tires in an attempt to relax. Work, he hated work these days. He looked down at his right front tire to realize that the remote was gone. "Hey," He said, looking over at Sadie who only smirked in response to his realization. "I was using that, ya know."

"Yes, you were," Sadie replied, flipping through the channels. "But you had your time, and now it's mine."

James sighed again, her reasoning was fair. "How was your day?" He asked her as Laura parked by the front door, waiting for Dave to come home. He noted Sadie's drink of choice. Ahh, he understood _very_ well. "Rough day, was it?"

Sadie silently agreed, not willing to elaborate. Soon the only sound between the four was the selected program playing on the television set. James and Sadie watched it with interest as the screen flickered, reflecting off of their glossy exteriors.

It was then that a pair of headlights shone around the room, someone was pulling into the driveway. Laura's eyes lit up in happiness and she quickly turned to face the front door, waiting to greet her friend. She had waited all day for this... just like always...

Dave wasn't halfway through the door before Laura drove up to his side and leaned on him. "Dave!" She exclaimed, nuzzling his fender. "What took you so long to get home? You had me so worried..."

James scoffed at this, he was always confused as to how many times Laura would continue to do this, even after everyone, including her, knew that Dave was more than likely to come home late from his own choice. "Jeez, Laura, you could at least have waited until he finished entering his own house," He said as he watched this unfold.

Laura didn't bother to acknowledge the car's comment. "Did you have a good day at work? You must've been really busy, it's very late..."

Dave flinched at her touch as he sat there, a bit unsure of what to say or do. Any other night he would have greatly accepted this greeting, but now he found himself pulling away from Laura. With Cadence consuming his thoughts, and his love for her resurfacing, he felt as if he was somehow betraying the love they shared.

"I just took my time tonight," He said as he turned around to shut the front door. The chilling air of the changing seasons moved throughout the living room quickly. "I'm sorry to worry you like I did." His voice was devoid of emotion.

James was first to notice this. He knew Dave was always the cheerful one, even on the worst of days. He felt something was wrong, something else was bothering his friend other than Brian. He watched him intently as the maroon car glided across the hardwood floor of the living room, nodding at Mason as he passed him.

Laura still sat at the door, wondering why her almost brother-like friend nearly avoided her entirely. She tilted her frame sadly as she thought, hoping it wasn't something she said. Surely it wasn't...

Dave nodded at Sadie, who responded the same. Though when he nodded at James, he quickly looked away. It was obvious to him that Dave was highly distracted. Silent greetings were not a personality trait of that car. Hell, he had known him since February of 1949...

Dave disappeared into the first hall, moving down it towards his bedroom.

Sadie spoke up once she was sure he was gone. "Anyone else think there's something wrong with him?" She asked, making eye contact with the other three. To her, that was more than strange. Even Mason had stopped reading, hoping the others caught a hint of something he didn't.

"I don't know," Laura whined as she began pacing off to the side once again. As if she wasn't worried before...

James kicked on his engine, feeling the need to receive an answer. "I'll go see what his problem is..." He said as he drove away from his place beside Sadie and down the hallway. Slowly, he made his way down the darkened path, getting closer and closer to a small light near the end.

He arrived at the closed door, the light shining out from underneath showed a form moving around and about the room behind it. He breathed in deep, knowing it was his job to make sure his friend was okay. Gently, he knocked on the door with one tire, waiting for Dave to open it.

A few moments later, James found himself face to face with the maroon car. He studied Dave's expression. "Mind if I talk to you for a minute?"

Dave backed out of the doorway without a word, allowing his friend to pass. He didn't particularly want to talk to anyone at the moment, but he was glad it was James and not one of the others. Not bothering to shut the door, he turned around to face him.

"Is everything alright?" James asked, giving the car a skeptical look. "Because you've almost got Laura in tears; she don't know what she did wrong. And now you've got_ all _of us worried..."

Dave sighed, none of that was his intention. If anything, he just wanted to keep this to himself. "You're acting like I intend on lying to you," He said as he parked a little ways away from James. "I assure you, I wouldn't..."

"I know that, Dave," James told him, almost offended. That was out of the question. "You're just not acting like yourself. You wanna tell me what's going on?"

Dave found it incredibly hard to ignore the nerve wrenching feeling he had every time he thought about Cadence. It was as if she was permanently etched in his memory, almost torturing him. He felt sick, and began to rummage through his closet in an attempt to get her off his mind. He didn't know how much more he could take.

"Dave?" James asked again when he didn't get an answer. Everything seemed entirely different from the angry vibes he felt at times during and after Dave and Brian had their usual fights. This was not normal behavior. "Damn it, what's bothering you?"

The maroon car stopped what he was doing, feeling a bit frustrated. He didn't want to, but he came to the conclusion that he would eventually have to tell this car what was weighing on his mind. "You remember Cadence, don't you?" Her name suddenly hurt to say, his engine ached.

Hearing that from Dave was quite a shock. He sat there astonished, amazed that the car was actually bringing her back into discussion after they both agreed never to mention her again. It was for the better that they didn't. "Of course I remember her. Why, is she back in town?" He asked, inching closer, incredibly interested.

"No," He said. "I wish she was..."

James knew how much of an effect Cadence had on him while she was still here. Even after she left, it was still very complicated. He was honored that Dave was talking to him about this. He'd kill the car who decided to bring this pain back into his life. "Did she call you?"

"Again, no," Dave told him sadly. "The recent events have brought her back into my mind." He turned on his engine and drove over to the window, opening up the curtains and allowing the moonlight to flood in. He hoped it could serve as some sort of distraction. "And now I've got this idea of gathering information and trying to find her..."

James sat there as the car paused for a moment.

Dave turned away from the window and towards James. He'd have to ask this question, he needed a second opinion badly. "Do you think that's a crazy idea, or do you think I should go through with it?"

James didn't know what to say. It was a big question to answer, especially when it really wasn't his decision. Apparently Dave still loved her a lot, more than he thought. "Honestly, it's not that crazy," He said, understanding Dave's motive. Though he had never felt love before, he could only imagine what it was like. "But it's up to you. You're the one who has to make the right choice for yourself..." He wanted him happy...

Dave sighed and returned to the window, that wasn't the answer he was looking for. He could only wish life was easier than it really was. Reality certainly had its cruel ways, right now was one of them. Not to mention everything else it happened to throw at him. Dwelling on this subject was tearing him apart, he'd have to let it go for tonight.

When Dave didn't respond with an answer whether or not he'd go to visit Cadence, he broke the silence. "Why don't you come back out into the living room, and pretend like nothing's bothering you until we can talk about this more," James offered. "At least do it for the others' sake, if not yours. Besides," He added with a smile. "You're looking a little pale."

Dave chuckled, rolling back away from the moonlit section by the window. He nodded to the suggestion, it was the right thing to do. Driving away from his friends like he had when he came home wasn't exactly the best idea. Now he had to worry about them wanting an explanation. "You're not gonna tell the others about this, are you?" Dave asked as they began to exit his bedroom.

James made a left at the doorway, starting his return to the living room. "I didn't before, did I?"

Dave knew that was a ridiculous question, of course he wouldn't. "No, you didn't. Thank you for that, by the way. I didn't want them involved..."

He nodded, knowing that answer already. "Hey, Dave, lemme as you something. If I hadn't met Cadence that one morning, would you still have told me about her?" He figured at least_ one _of his friends would have to know about that secret at some point.

Dave braked in the hallway, he wasn't prepared to answer. He had never really thought about it, for he hadn't planned on finding something worth chasing after with Cadence in the first place.

James smirked as he neared the end of the hallway, taking Dave's silence as a no. "That's okay, I understand."

Dave sighed, relieved that an actual answer wasn't required. He continued to follow James back out into the living room, where he was met by three silent stares. None of which were the least bit easy to adjust to. He watched James quietly return to his spot next to Sadie, slowly taking his next to James.

"I've gotta go," Sadie told them quite harshly, swallowing what was left of her drink. She set the glass down on the table next to her. "I told Brian I'd visit him tonight..." She turned on her engine and proceeded to head towards the front door. She'd explain no further.

Dave cringed at the mentioning of Brian's name. No, he refused to think about the situation with him tonight. It wasn't worth it...

"But," James started, watching her leave. "It's midnight."

"I know," Was all she said as she passed Laura, who quickly moved out of her way. The cherry red car wasn't about to question her foul mood. She appeared to be intent on leaving the house. The slam of the door followed not too long after her.

Laura gave Dave a pleading, desperate look. He noticed this, and smiled warmly at her. "Come over here and sit next to me," He said. He felt bad for his actions towards her earlier, she didn't deserve any of that. None of them did.

Dave looked into her eyes as she approached him, the sweet innocent car never failed to make him happier. Although he had helped out more times than she listened to his problems, he'd care about her and protect her for as long as he lived, as well as the others that meant so much to him.

Suddenly, he remembered why he loved life. With his friends surrounding him, he knew everything would be fine. Knowing that he was the one to keep everyone together all these years was his greatest accomplishment. The company couldn't possibly amount to the feeling of completion friendship gave him, even at the worst of times...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sadie revved her engine loudly in frustration as she drove down their street of the neighborhood. She couldn't care less about how late it was, she needed some way to let go of her anger regardless of the sleeping cars around her.

She didn't know how much longer she'd be able to take this, it was really starting to get to her. Without Brian around, she had no other car to talk to. Dave was already in over his hood, there was no way she could explain anything to him anymore. He was doing more than he should be... like usual...

Besides, most of those problems involved Brian. Trying to convince Dave to come visit him at the hospital was hard enough.

That was all Sadie wanted in life, was to help fix their friendship. It had fallen apart completely in the early sixties, an on-going dilemma that was obvious enough. She couldn't understand why Brian just wouldn't give in, and finally quit drinking. She knew how he felt, as well as Dave. Hell, she was there for most of two's fights.

She had a feeling that Dave was more than distraught as to why the car continued to put a wall between them. No matter how many times he tried to correct things with Brian, it always seemed to backfire on him. What made him the most angry, was knowing _exactly_ how Brian felt, but not knowing why he wouldn't give in. He knows why Brian acts the way he does, and that's what pains him the most.

That's why Sadie had to leave the house while she could. Seeing Dave look so helpless made her feel sick, it took a lot to make that car wear a look of defeat. If he felt that way, what did it mean for the rest of them? It meant nothing good, which is why she didn't care to know. She didn't _want_ to know what made him feel that way.

What ever it was, she knew she couldn't handle it at the moment...

She needed time, more time than she's been given already. The one thing on her mind these days was making sure she'd be less tolerant of Brian's drinking habit, if he picked it back up, when he came home. That had been everyone's fear this past month and a half. Though she'd been a very hypocritical model lately, by drinking when she came home. Oh yeah, she was sure Dave looked upon that approvingly...

_"If he could show even the slightest improvement in himself, it would make a significant change in our lives..."_

Dave's words echoed in Sadie's mind as she continued to drive through the neighborhood's deserted streets and towards the main road. He was right, absolutely right. And since she was the only one Brian actually listened to, it was her responsibility. Or at least help more than she had been. It was beginning to put a lot of pressure on her, she felt that the happiness of the others was in her tires.

The maroon car insisted that it was not her burden to worry over. Everything depended on her husband and his actions. So far, everyone had done all they could.

Sadie came to the end of their rich neighborhood, stopping at the sign and checking for the traffic that wasn't there. There were absolutely no cars on the road tonight, but out of habit she turned on her left blinker. To the left was the hospital, and turning right would take her directly to where she worked.

She took her time driving down the main road, allowing herself to slip into deep thought. She let her eyes settle on the distant city lights, it'd be a while before she'd reach the core of the town. Of their small town here in South Carolina, their _city_ was where everything happened. The buildings such as Dave's company and the hospital sat nearly in the middle of it, as well as many other tall buildings and highly important businesses.

From there, it branched off and actually started to look like the small, friendly town that she and her friends lived in. It was a peaceful one with many neighborhoods and local businesses unknown to the rest of the state. The center of their town may hold all the action, but that was exactly the way Sadie loved it.

It was nice living just a short distance away from all of that, and only having to go there when absolutely necessary. She and her friends lived on the outskirts of town, where it was easy to adjust to. Here, it was just the basic needs. And to top it all off, a beautiful beach as a background.

Sadie was approaching the middle of town quickly, and began to slow down before she did. The place was crowded with late night traffic, she was thankful that she'd be at the hospital's doors soon. The lights of the other buildings reflected off of her two tone teal exterior, giving her an extra glow that caught the attention of more than most of the cars moving through the busy streets.

Oh how she hated being a show-stopper...

A feeling of dread waved over her at the sight of a red light ahead. Slowly, she eased onto her brakes as the traffic began to stop. Sitting there, she started reading the neon signs around her.

"My my," The car in front of her started soothingly as he looked at Sadie through a side view mirror. She turned her attention to him sharply, his tone sounded like all the others' that were up to no good. "The Manufacturers were in a_ very _good mood the day they made you..."

Sadie glared at the car, giving him a vicious sneer as her eyes narrowed. "It's a damn shame I'm married," She told him harshly through bitter sarcasm. The car only laughed in response as the light finally turned green, much to her delight.

Driving another block, she found herself at the entrance of the hospital. Turning left, she pushed her way through the Freedom Doors and into the lobby. There was no need to look at her surroundings, so she drove straight towards the front desk where a nurse was waiting to assist others. The smell of the sterile atmosphere stung her senses.

The young nurse didn't bother to look away from her paperwork before asking the expected question. "Hello, how may I help you?"

"C'mon now," Sadie started as she smiled. "You know you don't need to ask me that anymore..."

The nurse recognized the car's voice immediately and looked up from the desk. "Oh, sorry about that! I wasn't expecting you to come at such a late hour. Here to see Brian, correct?" Sadie only nodded, and that was all she needed. She had gotten so used to seeing her around the hospital these past four months that she considered the other a friend. She pressed a button on the intercom and proceeded to speak into it. "Would you please tell the patient in room 302 that he has a visitor?"

"Of course," Came the reply a few moments later.

"So," Sadie began after a moment of silence, looking at the stacks of files on the rounded desk. "Do you think they've given you enough work for tonight?"

The nurse laughed lightly, placing some of the folders into the drawer next to her. "Not all of it's mine," She said as she slammed the cabinet shut. "I'm just doing what I can so that the next shift doesn't have that much to deal with. I don't mind doing it, honestly..."

The small intercom hissed briefly before a voice finally spoke. "The patient you requested isn't in the room number you supplied me with."

The nurse gave Sadie a confused look before replacing her tire on the intercom button. "Did you check the recovery floor?"

"I already did, he's not there. Please tell the visitor that we're sorry for the inconvenience."

Once the voice was gone, the nurse gave Sadie an apologetic look, though she stopped her before the car could say anything. "I heard her clearly, save your breath," Sadie said before sighing. She didn't intentionally want to sound rude, but she was mad that her husband wasn't waiting to be called. "Is there any way I can go find him myself? It's really important..."

The nurse shook her hood. "I'm sorry, our policies don't allow that. Maybe you could try coming back tomorrow morning?"

That wouldn't work for Sadie, tomorrow in general wouldn't work. The only thing she could think of was talking to Alex, seeing if he knew where Brian was. But she highly doubted that she was on his list of contacts. "No, I'll just come back another time... Thank you, have a good night." She was heading towards the exit when a male voice called out to her.

"Sadie?"

The teal car turned around to see Alex sitting in front of the double doors that lead to the other hallways. Luck was in her favor tonight. She smiled gratefully as she drove up to him. "Alex? What are you doing here?" She asked, finding this coincidence amusing.

"I came out here to make a few phone calls," He told her, returning the smile. He had always enjoyed talking to her, though the conversation between him and Brian was still running through his mind. He hoped this would be the right time to ask for some advice as to what to do. If anyone knew what was wrong, it was her.

"Do you know where Brian is? They told me they can't find him." Although she was sure he was just probably roaming the halls, she wondered how the hospital's staff managed to lose track of a patient like Brian.

"Yes, I know where he is... he's on the rooftop..." The Mustang told her, sighing.

Sadie's eyes widened out of shock. "Rooftop? What for?"

He reached out to Sadie's tire with one of his own. "C'mon, I'll take you back there so you can talk to him yourself. I have a feeling he won't be talking to me for a while..." Alex looked over at the nurse behind the desk for approval to leave with her. She only nodded and waved a tire for them to continue back into the halls. "Let's go," He said as he turned towards the double doors.

Sadie followed closely, she was concerned about Alex's last statement. "What do you mean he's not talking to you? Did you two get into a fight?" She asked, pulling up beside him as they drove down the main hall.

"You could say that..."

She growled lightly before dropping back behind the Mustang to follow him, keeping a steady pace. His response wasn't helping her any. Her temper was already short enough, she didn't want to hear answers that weren't straightforward. Though she kept her say in the matter to herself.

The two fell into silence as Alex led the way through the many hallways and towards the top floor, dodging patients and the staff. The drive seemed to take forever as both cars let their thoughts consume them. The white walls and bright lights surrounded them completely, it was almost blinding. Neither of the two ever learned to get used to it.

Sadie wasn't paying attention to Alex as he began to slow down. She slammed on her brakes just before she ran into him, noting where they stopped. In front of Alex sat two large steel doors with the title of their destination above it.

He turned around to face her, having done his job. "If you go through those doors, you'll find Brian."

"Thanks..." Sadie muttered as she drove past the Mustang. There was no need to pester him for more answers, her husband could now explain it to her.

"Hey," Alex said just as she reached the doors, he waited for her to turn back around. Though when she did, and as he looked at her curious expression, he found himself speechless. What he wanted to ask before suddenly slipped his mind as he looked into her beautiful eyes for the final time tonight.

"Yeah?" She asked, driving back over to him. "What's wrong?"

Alex sighed again, feeling he might regret this as well. "I realize now, that what Brian and I talked about, shouldn't have been brought up again. I'm sorry, but I had no idea..." He regarded Sadie a minute, wondering if she knew what he was hinting towards. Though when she didn't, he decided to go ahead and say it. Maybe she wouldn't neglect the chance to give him the full story, seeing that him and Brian were good friends. "What happened all those years ago?"

Sadie glared at the car. "Excuse me?"

Alex backed away, afraid of the look he received. Obviously _everyone_ considered this a sore subject, he couldn't do anything right today. He stammered, suddenly losing his will to search for answers. But it was too late to turn back now. "I, uhh-- He told me there was a death. That's all he told me, I swear. Please, don't be mad at me..."

"He_ told _you that?" She asked him, still in disbelief. The muscle car nodded silently in return. She drove around him, quickly leaving towards the doors of the rooftop. Damn it, she thought, things were supposed to get better in the hospital, not worse...

As she drove past him, he turned to follow her. "Sadie?" She looked back once more, waiting for him to speak. "Is everything gonna be okay?"

Sadie let her gaze drop the floor, thinking back on their lives over the years. She wished she knew that answer more than anything in the world. Though Alex's question was concerned with right now, not what goes on outside of this hospital. That car knew nothing, nothing at all. Having seen their lives, how it used to be and could have been, she doubted it as the sting of tears pained her eyes.

"I hope so, Alex, I really do..."

With that, she turned around and pushed her way through the large steel doors, leaving the Mustang behind.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brian sighed roughly as he thought about how badly this turned out to be. From the beginning, he knew it was just a matter of time before he'd eventually screw things over like he always did. Though it was just such a disappointment, seeing how far they came. There was no reason to stay here at the hospital anymore...

Because being here... he didn't have to worry about the troubles of tomorrow... the fights he'd be involved in that destroyed the remains of friendships... Here, he had a chance to wake with a smile knowing that there was _someone_ in his life that didn't carry the burden of the difficulties he created... A place where he felt he had finally started over... But now, Alex knew, and everything he tried to protect that Mustang from was running through his mind like a rumbling train with the pain of regret... All hope felt lost...

"I'm a failure, what else is new..." He mumbled to himself as he let his chassis drop to the ground on the gravel covered roof top. The stars shone brightly on his body through the surrounding darkness as the cold winds of October moved passed him. He shivered, wishing he could go back inside, but he wasn't ready to be around the others.

If there was any time for a drink, right about now would be fantastic. At least then it would shut out his thoughts to a point where he wouldn't have to question his life and the lives of his friends. But he was seeing everything clearly now, all of it felt so new. It was like he was discovering the beauty of life all over again. He was alert, more sensible than he had been in a long time.

Which is why the thought of having a relapse when he got out of here caused him to shudder.

He desperately wanted them to be proud of him; more than anything. The only reason Brian hasn't taken himself out of their lives, even though he's sure things would be a lot better for everyone if he did, is because he couldn't stand leaving them. Not after everything they've gone through.

The sudden burst of the doors behind scared him into first gear. He quickly turned around as he tried to calm his pistons. A car sat motionless between the doors as the bright lights of the hospital flooded in from around it, blackening out the figure so that he couldn't tell who it was. No, it wasn't Alex like he feared. The silhouette was much too feminine.

"Did you forget I was coming to see you?" A soothing voice said as the car approached him.

Brian sighed and smiled, knowing that voice from anywhere. He felt warmed by the presence of his wife. The large steel doors finally shut, allowing him to see her eyes and tired smile now that the blinding light was gone. "Something happened and I had to come out here, sweetie... You understand, don't you?"

She kissed him in greeting, not knowing that'd be a mistake.

Brian could smell the faint distant aroma of liquor. His senses suddenly became alert as the thought of finally being able to have a drink coursed throughout his body, suppressing his will to fight it off. The urge to have one, enjoy that first sip he so longed to feel, felt more powerful than ever before. He could almost taste it as the feeling lingered, teasing him. It all came back...

"Did you... have a drink before you came? Because I can swear--" He didn't have time to finish as Sadie shoved him away. He sat there, astonished. "What was that for?" He demanded, even though he knew he deserved more than just a shove from her.

Sadie gave him a stern look. She was already upset for having that drink, being reminded was not helping her. "I didn't come here to talk to you about that. You need to get your act together, got it?" It wasn't too long before she gave in. "I had a good reason for it, okay? Today was horrible..." She said, resting her frame on the uncomfortable gravel.

Brian snuggled close beside her, understanding completely. He was the one with the addiction, not her. "It's alright, I knew what you meant..." He said as she pressed into him, he loved times like this. "I'm sorry..."

She closed her eyes, relaxing beside him. There was no need to continue the argument after she finished it, an apology was good enough. "Alex helped me get here," She said, changing the subject. "What happened between you two?" She'd leave out all possible details, hoping Brian would give her the full story that way.

Brian sighed deeply, he really didn't want to go into detail like he did earlier. To him,_ that _had been detail. Or at least the most he'd said in years. He had a feeling that if he told her it was about liquor, he'd spend the rest of the night and into the early hours of tomorrow morning saying yes ma'am and no ma'am to her. He couldn't do it, he couldn't let her know he came close to failing.

"Sadie," He started, looking up at the stars. "I really don't wanna talk about it... I didn't wanna before..." There was no response to his statement. "Sadie?" He asked, glancing sideways at her. Her eyes were shut and she was breathing gently. She looked so beautiful, asleep under the stars next to him.

He swallowed hard as a deeply painful thought reminded him of something he'd much rather not think about. He realized that it had been more than four months since she had fallen asleep next to him and shared a moment like this with her. Four months of her life wasted, all because of him. All those nights she slept alone without him afraid and cold. Though he was here with her now. It would never come down to this again...

A single silent tear rolled down his hood as he continued to watch her peaceful sleeping form, his thankful smile quivering at the sight. He shifted slightly, getting comfortable as well. He would not wake her, this moment was too important. Out of all the things he missed the most, this was it. It was their love he lived for.

Brian turned on his engine, letting it idle. His wife was too exhausted from today to notice the initial start. He hoped there would be enough heat to keep her from shivering. He sighed contently as he turned his gaze towards the night's sky, admiring the blanket of stars above them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Well, there's all of chapter eight. I hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it._


	9. Chapter 9

_I can't believe how long it took to update! Well, some of the family members went back home after Christmas, and school is almost here so things are almost back to normal. I apologize for taking so long. For those of you who are fans of The Reunion, there's a section in here you might remember._

_Disclaimer: I don't know how many of my OCs are going to be in here, but I own them. So please don't take them! Other than that, enjoy!_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**CHAPTER NINE**

The conversations wandering around the recovery floor didn't come_ close _to being noticed by Alex as he stared at the large round clock on the wall across from him. He lost track of how long he'd been sitting there, watching the minute hand make another trip around. An hour, maybe two? It didn't matter anymore, though he couldn't help but wish time would go faster.

All day the Mustang had been waiting for Brian to wake up. For someone who lived his life trying to beat the clock, he sure had a lot of patience for the waiting game...

He stayed up almost all night after he had shown Sadie where her husband was, watching the light in Brian's room shine through the air vent at the bottom of the wall as he sat in his own, waiting. It wasn't until three in the morning that the light was finally shut off for good. The saddened look that she had given him before she left caused most of his sleep loss, it only made him more worried about everything.

Alex had a strong feeling that told him it would be best if he didn't try and wake his friend this afternoon. He was sure that Brian would try and avoid him as much as possible, now that the secret had been revealed, but there was nothing he could do about that. Hell, he didn't even have the nerve to approach him at the moment.

After those upsetting conversations between them, he's had a lot of time to think this over. He'd never known anyone that was an alcoholic; all his friends were obsessed with racing, there was never a time where he'd become acquainted with one. Now he was filled with concern.

He couldn't believe he had actually agreed with Brian's request to find someone who could bring liquor into the hospital for him. Had he known of his friend's current state of being, it would've of been different. It wasn't his fault, really, but he was still ashamed of himself.

From the information he had gathered about this new situation, it was apparently a very strong addiction. Something that was much more powerful than he expected it to be. But out of everything that had been said, he couldn't quite understand the concept of why this would be so difficult for his friend to overcome.

He had seen the side of Brian that had been locked away for many years. The car that had been friendly, playful, and above all others, caring. Although Brian was bitter at times, Alex was sure he came close to fixing what ever had been broken, even if the green car still clung to denial in the month and a half he had known him.

Was his friend willing to give that up again? Or was this something beyond his control? Either way, he'd have to try. He wouldn't let Brian go back to his old ways. What ever it took, he'd help as much as he could.

The Mustang was about to turn on his radio and quietly listen to it when a brief silence fell over the recovery floor. Brian had entered the room and was now sitting in front of the large double doors. Alex's eyes drifted down from the clock on the wall and to the green car sitting below it.

The conversations continued but with caution, the look on Brian's face was enough of a warning for them to stay clear of his way.

His expression reminded Alex of the first time he'd seen him, back when the car had barged into his room and demanded that the music was to be turned off instantly. That dominant projection and proud appearance he had once again resurfaced, but now it hurt him to know that it wasn't real. If anything, it was just another way of hiding himself.

He began to wonder if he'd be able to detect that trace of fear in the car's voice as well. Brian still resented racing and everything it meant as far as he knew. Then again, he could be wrong. He sure hoped he was, for he had made a plan. It was a plan he felt had too many loose ends, but it was a plan none the less. At least he had one.

As quickly as Brian had appeared, he was gone. The car had simply turned around and proceeded to drive back out into the main hallway, leaving behind what ever his original intentions were.

Alex quickly started his engine and switched into first gear, moving away from his spot by the windows and towards the exit. Nothing would get accomplished if he continued to sit there. Besides, all he had been doing was waiting for him to wake up. It wasn't like he was purposely distancing himself, finding the perfect moment to ruin his friend's day.

Rushing through the double doors in an attempt to catch up with him, he found himself alone in the main hallway. He listened to his surroundings as he questioned which way to turn, figuring that the green car would most likely try and throw him off course with an alternate route to a different section of the hospital.

Intercoms echoed in the halls, phones rang in the distance, monitors beeped steadily. All the signs of a regular day in the hospital, but it was far from it.

Sighing to himself, Alex turned his front tires to the right and began to drive down the hall towards Brian's room. He should at least rule out the obvious if his friend wanted to play this ridiculous game with him. His bellowing race engine seemed to be his only company on his trip through the hospital. He found it strange that not even the nurses were wandering around.

He drove past his own room and began to slow to a stop just before he reached Brian's. Gently pushing one of the doors open with a tire, he peered in. To his surprise the green car was staring out the window silently in deep thought.

Alex didn't bother to announce his presence, he could tell Brian already knew he was here. The car had shifted uncomfortably on his weight. He waited a moment longer before speaking up. "Brian?" He asked, his voice piercing through the silence.

Brian flinched but refused to turn around. There was nothing he felt he could say at this point in time that could possibly fix what had been said and done these past few days. It was for the best that one of them decided to end things where they were now.

The Mustang sighed roughly, he didn't come this far with a friendship to be ignored. "You're being immature about this..."

Apparently that was too much of an insult for the other to handle. Brian lashed around at Alex's statement. "_Immature_?" He sneered, glaring at him.

Alex glared back. "Oh don't act so shocked, Brian. You're the one making a big deal out of this." The image of Sadie's hurt look flashed in his memory. "As far as I'm concerned, you're not considering just how much of an effect this has on the others..."

Wrong. So wrong.

Brian quickly drove across his room and pulled up in front of Alex, hell bent with anger. The muscle car had no idea just what kind of thoughts continued to consume him or the amount of regret and anguish he felt. His friend never would, and a deep rage ran through him because of that. Alex didn't know the truth. "What would you know about my friends? You don't know_ half _of what you think you do."

"I think Sadie's good enough proof," He said, "Why don't you ask her how it feels..."

Brian couldn't believe that the car was bringing his wife into this, purposely trying to bring him down to a level he thought he'd already reached. Almost instantly he lunged at Alex and lashed out at him with burning hatred. Though he stopped just as fast, the Mustang hadn't moved at all.

Alex scowled at him. "I'm not afraid of you, Brian; never was. So don't think that's gonna change now," He told him firmly, un-phased. Even if the green car did strike him, he'd have no problem doing just the same. "You wanna hit me? Go ahead. But I'm not the one who needs sense beat into him."

Brian's expression loosed as he backed away upon hearing those words. He couldn't for the love of life figure out why Alex was suddenly taking a stand. Maybe the car cared more than he thought. His friend had a crucial point, and either way he'd never fight him out of blind rage.

"You through?" The Mustang asked.

"Yeah..." He breathed, reversing farther away. He sighed and looked back at Alex, noticing his friend's curious yet determined expression. "I'm sorry, that wasn't me... It's just what you said about Sadie hit home a little too hard..." Regarding him for a moment, he sensed that he was dealing with an entirely new side of the muscle car. "Why'd you say that?"

Alex, too, began to relax. "Your friends are suffering. If you know how the others feel about this, care to tell me why you were asking for liquor?"

Brian returned to his place in front of his window, leaving the Mustang by the double doors. "Honestly," He started, staring at the world outside. "It's not worth sharing." Everything was progressing for the worst, he didn't want Alex introduced into his life. His chances of having a friend that didn't carry the burdens of his life were gone.

Just one friend that could be free...

"If you didn't wanna talk to me, how come you came to the recovery floor?" Alex asked, moving across the room towards him. "You know I'd be there, I'd say you were looking for a conversation."

The Mustang was right, but Brian wouldn't let him know that. Instead he continued to gaze at the town below him, watching traffic move in the distance.

Alex sighed as well when he didn't get a response, sometimes that car could be so stubborn. Brian was listening but not cooperating. He decided now was the right time to suggest something to him. "Do you hate racing?" He asked.

For some reason, Brian was halfway expecting that. "No, I don't_ hate _it. It's just that bad things tend to follow it..."

Good, he didn't hate it. That was a start. "Then come to my first race when we get outta this damn place for good," Alex said. He figured an opportunity like that could occupy Brian's time, hopefully keep him away from his addiction.

Suddenly Brian could feel the warmth of the sun. That was such an honor. He still wanted to be friends after all of this? After all he'd said and done to him that others would look upon with pity? Hope, there was so much hope...

But he wouldn't take it. He couldn't, just couldn't. His brief smile faded, there was too much involved. It was something that made him believe this could still fall apart and go horribly wrong. He'd eventually let Alex down, more than he was already.

Brian turned on his engine and began to back away from the window, driving across the room past the Mustang and through the double doors without a word.

Alex closed his eyes, breathing in deep and lowering on his shocks while he sat there alone. He wasn't about to give up on this; wasn't the slightest bit discouraged. What ever it took, he'd help. He was no quitter, and he had a past to prove it...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day, Alex had another plan he was already putting into action. He drove down the main hallway at a brisk pace that morning, eager to reach the hospital's lobby. This time, he was sure this would work. He'd seen just how much of an impact Sadie had on Brian's life by the reaction he had towards his comment about her. Maybe she could provide some sort of solution.

Coming to a stop in the waiting room of the lobby, he grinned when he saw what nurse was behind the front desk.

Slowly and smoothly, he drove to her. "Well hey there," He purred gently, pulling up in front of her. She quickly looked away from her paper work and into the eyes of her visitor, not shocked about who it was. "How's your day going so far?" He let his voice draw out, allowing his engine to work his charm.

The nurse smirked at him, though soon smiled. "What do you want? I'm busy..." She told him, organizing files.

Alex only laughed lightly. "What makes you think I'd want something?" He questioned, following her movements in an attempt to regain her attention. When he succeeded, he smiled suavely at her. "I can't say hello to a good, dear friend of mine?"

"Cut the crap," The nurse finally said, mocking his smile as she stopped doing her job. "And this better be worth listening to."

The Mustang instantly turned serious, remembering what his plan was. "Okay, but before you give me your answer, hear me out," He said before continuing. "I was wondering if you'd be able to give me Brian's contact list..."

The nurse rolled her eyes at him. "No way! Do you know how much trouble I could get in if I got caught giving you someone else's personal information? No, I won't do that. I refuse to do so," She said, annunciating her words carefully to let him know she was firm with her decision.

Alex shifted his eyes from left to right, looking at the room around him with a devious grin. "I don't see anyone else around," He noted, inching closer to her.

Her eyes leveled out. "You're charming, but I'm telling you right now that doesn't work on me..."

The Mustang sighed, somewhat frustrated. "Oh c'mon! What if I told you that love and friendships depended on this very request? Would you change your mind then?" He was surprised at how true his statement was. The nurse looked away briefly before looking back into his eyes and seeing the pleading, innocent face he decided to wear. "Trust me, Sadie would greatly appreciate this..."

She thought about Sadie's current situation. "You're doing this for her?" Alex nodded. "Fine," She said, giving in. "But keep in mind this is a favor for_ her_, not _you_..."

"Thank you," He told her gratefully. "You won't regret this..."

The nurse hummed momentarily. "I better not, otherwise it'll be your hood." She flipped through the files in the cabinet next to her, pulling out Brian's folder. She searched the sub categories, finding the stock card with the needed information. She turned back to face Alex, carefully sliding the paper to him.

"Don't take too long," She warned.

The muscle car nodded as he began to read the small note card in front of him on the desk. Several different numbers were located on it. The first contact was labeled as Main House, the one directly below it was named Company. He read the side notes to that particular contact. There were two different extension numbers beside the actual, one which was Dave's. Next to his was a guy named Shane.

That made no sense to Alex, but either way he wouldn't be calling that number.

The final contact was a man named George Harris. He stopped reading and thought about the familiarity of the name. "Harris... Harris... I know that from somewhere." He smiled brightly once he recognized it. "South Carolina Racing Headquarters," He told himself. "I love that place..."

Still holding onto the list, he turned around and spotted a row of payphones on the other side of the room. He turned back to the nurse. "Hey do you think I could--"

She slid him two quarters. "That'll get you two minutes," She said, smiling.

He smiled back at her, taking them. "Did I ever tell you how awesome you were?"

"Just leave me to my peace, will ya?"

He chuckled and did what he was told, driving away from the front desk and to the phones. After placing the quarters in, he began to dial Main House's number. He sure hoped Sadie would be home, this was as far as he had planned.

The phone rang, rang, and rang. Just as he was about to give up, a voice came over the other end of the line. "Hello?" A male voice asked un-amused.

"Is Sadie there?"

The voice suddenly turned aggravated, he didn't recognize the other. "Who are you? The new stalker? Listen, don't call this house again unless--"

"This is Alex, sir," He told him, stopping what could've been an angry rant. "I'm a friend of Brian's." There was a long uneasy silence that followed. "Hello?" He asked, wondering if he'd lost connection. Very faintly, the muscle car could tell that who ever was on the other side of the line had turned away from the phone and was talking to someone else.

"Does Brian know anyone by the name of Alex?" The car had asked the individual in the room with him.

Alex could hear the distant reply of another car slightly gasping, and an annoyed 'give me the damn phone' before the shuffling on the other side stopped abruptly. There was a muffled apology as a very pretty feminine voice came over the line. "Hello?" The woman asked.

"Sadie, this is Alex." It was then that he realized his time was running out. "I need you to come here it's really important that--" But it was too late, the phone shut off before he could finish.

The Mustang sighed as hung up the phone, now he didn't know if she'd be coming to the hospital. He turned around to look at the rest of the lobby, feeling it'd be too rude to ask the nurse for a couple more quarters. Defeated, he drove back over to the front desk and gave the card back to her. "Thanks," He told her softly before driving towards the main hallway.

All he could do now was hope she understood his message. He was more than sure his attempt to get his words across came out in a frantic mess. He scoffed, thinking he must've sounded like a complete idiot.

Alex passed other cars in the hospital at a slower than usual pace as he drifted off into his own world. Everything else seemed to disappear once he began to think about the irritable voice that first answered the phone. Whoever it was had apparently not been informed of his friendship with Brian. That was actually Sadie's decision...

The muscle car made an immediate right after a few more hallways and pushed his way through the double doors of his room, driving forward and turning around so that he faced them. He settled on his frame and exhaled slowly before shutting his eyes in relaxation. Now it was time to create yet _another_ plan...

Eventually he'd run out of ideas, but as long as his imagination kept going so would he.

It was the crackling static of his room's intercom a few minutes later that brought him out of deep thought. The Mustang listened intently as a voice spoke. "Sir," The nurse at the front desk began. "You have a visitor..."

Alex sat there a moment longer, almost confused as he pieced together those words. Visitor? Just how long had he been sitting there? Within an instant he had started his engine and bolted through the double doors, barreling down the halls with ease as he maneuvered past patients. He applied his brakes upon remembering just how fast he really was.

He smiled sheepishly at the surrounding cars in apology, noticing their stunned expressions. He supposed most of them weren't big fans of racing. But he continued on his way, thinking how great it would be once he finally started racing again. He missed being in that kind of spotlight.

Alex came to a full stop at the lobby doors, calming his nerves with a sigh. He had already made a fool of himself over the phone, no need to appear desperate. He slowly drove into the lobby, scanning the room for that beautiful teal car.

And there she was, sitting across the room in that unforgettable posture that, only in his eyes, seemed to scream for help. It was like he was an insider, one of the few who knew her pain. It hurt him to know that he'd have to give her bad news. But it wasn't like he had a choice, this was a serious situation. With Brian's opinion in the matter put aside, it was important that she knew what was happening.

The Mustang pulled forward and made his way across the room, catching her smile and returning one of his own. As he approached there was a sudden realization that Brian would see this as a complete betrayal. He kept wondering whether or not the green car would confront him for bringing his wife into this. Though it was too late now...

"Well that was quick..." Sadie said once he was close enough. She watched him park beside her and shut off his engine.

"So were you," He told her. "And I was surprised you came."

"Why?" She asked, laughing lightly. "I knew you had a good reason for calling the house. I trust your judgment, ya know."

Alex looked around the room anxiously. He was too busy thinking about how he'd become so nervous within just a few moments to notice the awkward silence that fell between them. When his eyes finally shifted to the left he was met with the easy and steady gaze of Sadie.

She noticed this, and was now concerned for_ his _well-being. "You alright?"

Alex nodded and looked away from her, somehow feeling this would be more difficult than expected. "The other night, after I led you through the hospital, I told you that I knew there had been a death." He glanced back over at her, and she nodded for him to continue. "But there was more to it. Though I bet you already knew that since it takes an awful lot for him to admit what he told me..."

She kept quiet, wanting him to finish. He was right, very right.

"There's a strong connection between you and your husband, and that's why I believe you'd be able to help the most. I realize now that I should've told you this while I had the chance." He paused briefly, still doubting and second-guessing the outcomes. He couldn't bring himself to look at her anymore. "Because the other day, he was asking for liquor..." The tension began to build. "... and that's the reason I called you."

The teal car sat there in silence, replaying Alex's words in her mind. The icy chill of the hospital slowly moved its way into her frame. It was like shock; she felt numb, something one felt before reality set in. Almost as if trying to protect her from the truth. She wasn't sure how to respond.

"Sadie," Alex began, snatching her from her thoughts. "You know more about this than me. I need to know what _I _can do to help."

Sadie couldn't find her voice, there were too many things running through her mind. Being the first to hear this news she wondered whether or not she should tell the others. It was best that they didn't know, especially Dave. She shivered at the thought of what the maroon car might have to say about that. Recovery process be damned, that was entirely wrong of Brian to do.

It was then that she turned her attention to the Mustang, regarding him for the longest time. Those phone calls between her and Brian were true, and it was obvious that Alex wasn't going to let everything fall apart like they were. She admired his determination...

Alex sat there still as stone. The silence between them was beginning to be a little too much for him. He panicked, thinking maybe that wasn't the right thing to say at a time like this. Maybe she didn't want him to get so involved with their lives. "I mean, that is unless you feel that I should just stay out of this and--"

He gasped slightly when she laid a tire on his front fender. He wasn't expecting her gesture.

"Alex, relax already," She said, giving him a reassuring smile. She withdrew her tire before continuing, making sure he knew she recognized how much he cared. "I'm not mad at you, okay? I'm very glad you told me this, even if I don't seem that way at the moment..." If he thought this was tough, he had no idea just what kind of hell they've been through.

Alex sighed, sinking lower on his shocks. He'd known all along that she would appreciate this, he was just overreacting...

"So let me get this straight," Sadie started, gaining the Mustang's attention. "He wanted _someone_ to get liquor for him?"

Alex nodded, that was the closest thing to the truth without going into too much detail. "Yes, ma'am. Then Colby explained to me that he was an alcoholic..."

The statement about Colby didn't matter, she was upset that Brian had the nerve to drag Alex through this as well. The more she thought on it, a question came to mind. "Is that what caused the fight between you two?" She asked, turning to look at him. She knew Alex couldn't possibly create a defense that quickly without knowing the reason behind Brian's request.

Alex shook his hood. "No, no it wasn't a fight. Later that night I started talking to Brian about it and that's when he left for the rooftop. It was my fault, I pressured him into telling me a little about the past. After that, you showed up. I guess I pushed him too far. I'm sorry about that..."

"Why are you sorry?" She asked, honestly curious.

"I practically backed him into a corner..."

Sadie scoffed. "Well he started this whole thing, you and I both know that. _He_ backed _himself _into that corner, what ever he's doing right now is his fault..." She'd known all along this would happen. She glanced over at the Mustang, he still didn't seem convinced. "Besides, I know he's thankful having a friend like you. I know he doesn't show it, and I _know_ he'll never say it, but he is..."

Alex took his gaze off of the tile floor in front of him and into her eyes.

His expression seemed to ask the question, and Sadie knew what she had to do. "I've got something to show you," She said quietly, pulling out a few photographs. Alex eyed them, completely intrigued. "But you've gotta promise not to say anything about them afterwards..."

The teal car looked over the three photos again, holding them in one tire as she studied them once more. She smiled lightly, the Mustang watched her intently as he waited for her to speak. He had no idea why she was smiling, but he didn't have a chance to ask as the smile faded into a long, sad drawn out sigh.

"I'm a real good judge of character, which is probably why I'm here talking to you," She said, flipping through each one by one. "I had a feeling that one day I'd show them to you. Even though I may not mind doing so, these pictures mean a hell of a lot to Brian..."

Sadie slid the first photo over to the muscle car. Alex noticed the slightly torn edges and fragile appearance it had and took it with care. He held it gently in his tire.

The picture was in black and white, but the scenery was unmistakable; February's dying winter had taken its effects on the trees and they stood in the background just adding to the gloom. Though in the middle of the photograph sat a joyful youngster. The car was wearing a smile that seemed to change the dull mood of the picture completely around, giving off a happy and worry-free vibe.

A feeling that seemed invincible at the time...

"That's Colton," Sadie said, breaking yet another uneasy silence. "The car Brian was talking about." Alex couldn't tear his eyes away from the photo, there was something about it that kept him there. He leaned closer to her, letting her know he was listening. "Brian was his crew chief and trainer then. That picture was taken the day of his first win, back in 1949..."

Alex was almost too lost in the photo to see that Sadie had given him a second. He took one last glance at the picture of Colton before giving it back to her and taking the other, the same black and white contrast.

Brian was sitting next to Colton, the two seemed to be laughing shamelessly at something off to the side in the distance behind the car taking the picture. They weren't even aware of the cameraman's presence, just enjoying the moment. Their lives looked so blissful, so complete. Not only could Alex see why a death like Colton's would have such an impact, but feel it.

The Mustang was finally able to look away and at her. "How did--"

"He died in a crash," She said, cutting him off. "Though it wasn't during one of the town's official races, it was a race between him and Brian late one night. Even though it was an accident Brian still blames himself after all these years. I didn't know him at the time, in fact I wasn't even in the same state, but that's when the drinking started."

Alex didn't want to hear anymore of Colton's death. There was a sick feeling running through his engine as Brian's words collided with the information, he wanted it to stop.

"Here," Sadie said, giving him the third photo. The muscle car tried to give the other back to her, but she stopped him. "No no, do me a favor and compare them. Do you see the difference in the pictures? Can you see it?"

This time it was a picture of Brian and Doc sitting next to each other with a Piston Cup trophy between them, both smiling and enjoying victory lane. Alex quickly glanced at the third photograph, recognizing the famous car. He flipped it over and noted what year it was before looking up at Sadie. "Yeah, this is The Fabulous Hudson Hornet and his 1952--"

"Besides that..."

The Mustang looked closer, scanning the two photos. There was a similarity between the expressions of Colton and Doc, the two cars appeared entirely happy and caught up in the moment. Alex took his time, finally seeing what Sadie had been talking about. That sickening feeling came back the more he stared at the photo.

It was Brian. He was smiling, but Alex could see past that now. The green car seemed different. He looked so changed, so distant. A picture of someone who hadn't forgotten the memories and never would. The black and white photo reflected how the car really felt, cold. It was in his eyes, they told the truth.

"I see it," Alex told her, quickly giving her back the photographs. He knew that Brian had also been the crew chief and trainer for Doc, but there was still one question remaining for him. "What ever happened to the racing team? I mean I know everyone split up, but why?"

Sadie shifted on her tires and sighed. "The only one we're missing is Hudson, all of us are still together. There was a huge blow up at a party one night and things got real bad. We didn't find out until it was too late that the team had been sabotaged. We haven't seen Hudson since..."

Somehow Alex felt he shouldn't press that subject any farther, he decided to move on to something else. All the personal information he'd been told was beginning to worry him. "Sadie," He started. "Why'd you show me those pictures?"

She was waiting for this question, hoping he'd ask. "You know, he talks about you all the time over the phone; says you're a great friend." He shifted towards her, wondering where she was going with this. "He tells me that you've got a bright future ahead of you..."

Alex sunk low on his shocks, thinking deeply on the statements she had made. He never thought that Brian would say such things, the car certainly never acted like he would. "Really?" He asked, looking over at her.

Sadie nodded. "And I believe him, which is why I'm telling you all of this. Alex, the reason he's acting like he is now is because he doesn't wanna hold you back. He's so afraid of _this_ happening again," She said, showing him the photos for a final time. "He sees himself as an obstacle, and that's why he's rejecting you..."

The Mustang allowed that to sink in. He looked away from her and began watching the other cars in the lobby, everyone seemed to be in such a rush. None of them noticed the two sitting there, all busy with their own lives; wrapped up tight. Some disappeared behind doors, some arrived. All doing what they had to...

He glanced sideways at her, she seemed as if she was just finally relaxing. He couldn't imagine what she must be going through these days, let alone all this time. There was much more to this than he thought. "Are you gonna be okay?" He asked.

She nodded and looked down at her hood. He was surprisingly easy to talk to, and she desperately needed this conversation. "I'll be fine," She told him, giving him a sweet smile. She looked away, seeing more concern coming her way from the orange car. "Ehh, who am I kidding? I never learned how to adjust... none of us did..."

Alex felt helpless, he wanted to offer her comfort but didn't know how.

"Listen," She said, regaining her composure. "Your intentions were great but you've gotta believe me when I say there's nothing more you can do for him. You're just gonna have to let things play out; _all of us _are gonna have to..."

The Freedom Doors next to them opened suddenly, a car slowly drove in and started looking around the room. He spotted Sadie right after she recognized him. She left her spot next to Alex and drove over to the other. The Mustang turned to face them and watched the two talk from off to the side.

"James, what are you doing here?" She asked, parking in front of him. She was turned away from Alex, and all he could see was her friend. The car's expression had loosened, relieved that he didn't have to go searching for her. He didn't even notice the muscle car behind her.

"I came to tell you that your boss called, he says he needs you at work today..."

Alex continued to listen to the conversation, he recognized the other to be the voice of the car who answered the phone. Sadie mumbled something to herself before she turned around to drive back over to Alex. "I'm sorry, but I have to go..."

"It's alright, I understand," He told her, noticing James coming around the side.

"Who's this?" James asked in a slightly arrogant tone as he pulled up beside Sadie. She jabbed him in the side with a tire, scolding him with a warning glare.

Alex smiled regardless of the other's rude tone. "I'm Alex, Brian's friend. I wanted to apologize for not introducing myself properly earlier..."

James found himself returning the smile, obviously taking note of Sadie's actions. He wouldn't poke and prod at her reasons for coming here, it wasn't his business anyhow. "I didn't mean to give you a hard time about it; it's been a real rough week on everyone at the house." He turned to the teal car. "C'mon, your boss is expecting you at work within the hour..."

The two started to drive away side by side. Alex watched them leave, still listening to their conversation.

"What shift am I working?" He heard her ask as they neared the exit.

"The graveyard," James answered flatly, seeming to prepare himself for her little fit of anger.

Sadie exhaled sharply, thoroughly pissed as she slammed on her brakes for an instant. "Oh I swear--" She rose higher on her frame before continuing, James just took it in stride. "That bastard, he can't do that to me again!" Over the rant Alex could hear James sigh loudly. The two rounded the corner. "Well he can shove it--"

The automatic sliding doors closed before Alex could hear the rest. It was probably for the best that he didn't...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brian's shaking intensified as his engine starved for liquor again. He grimaced at the pain, it was the worst he'd ever felt. He kept telling himself that it couldn't get any more agonizing, but it seemed to do so with each passing day. The addition of a new level of hell...

The green car tried hard to focus in on things around him, straining to see everything in the room that appeared blurry and distorted. He sat alone in a corner of the recovery floor shaking so violently that he could no longer see clearly. It got worse the more he thought about drinking and how long he'd gone without it.

It was at the point where only shutting his eyes gave him a moment of relief. But sleep, he had enough of. Sleeping was all he could do in an attempt to escape the terrible withdrawal symptoms he had. He wished he was still out cold like he was five months ago, at least then he wouldn't have to deal with reality. Life was miserable.

He'd never been deprived of liquor at any point in his life, which is why what nearly killing him didn't phase his thoughts. It was a feeling that kept nagging at him to get his next drink soon. He needed it, craved it, it was apart of him. It was with him all his life, and that's what made it so difficult. It had been gone for too long, a piece of him was missing.

The past few days he'd been narrowing down his choices of the drinks he'd have the first chance he got once he was out of this damn hospital for good, that was the only thing that consumed his thoughts. What brands, how many shots, and what kind of beer to chase it down with. He had it all planned out...

Each time after Brian had that thought, he was reminded of the fact that he'd have to see his friends again. He thought about all the sadness he'd be dealing with after he was free from here. He'd have to face Dave, his worst fear. His best friend of all these years was going to give him hell, he was sure of it. These past few months he'd been preparing himself for the argument.

Some things were going to be said that never should be...

Brian sighed, trying to calm himself. He sank down to the cold tile floor, it helped his shaking. Finding peace was hard to do in a place filled with cars that had nothing else to do but talk all day long. Something that didn't help his irritability and short temper...

Visits form Sadie didn't make him happy, they only seemed to hurt more. For the first time in his life he didn't want to see his wife, he didn't want her to come here. It was such a sad and low point in his life that he was afraid of his loved ones.

Nothing could make him happy, nothing...

He watched some of the new arrivals to the hospital try out their improved engines, the ones that just gotten out of the rooms and were allowed to be mobile for the first time. They were happy to be healthy and active again, unlike Brian who only wished he was still cooped up in his room knocked out.

There in his little corner of the room, Brian avoided contact with everyone else as he waited to start his daily routine for recovery. It usually made his engine feel better and it certainly helped to get his mind off drinking. His semi-rebuilt engine still had a few weeks to go before he was ready to leave.

The green car swore that Colby was out to get him, almost as if his doctor wanted him to feel the pain he was in. Like it was some sort of payback for drinking all these years. He wasn't unaware of the consequences his actions had, but he came to the conclusion that Colby was making things_ especially _difficult for him...

Colby had refused to give Brian medication to make the aches in his engine go away, much less something to help stop the shaking. The doctor told him he wouldn't prescribe any medication during Brian's 'route to recovery'. His excuse was his worry that his patient might become dependent on the medicine.

There was no doubt in that car's mind that Brian would switch right from alcohol to the pills as an escape.

_"You're almost there. If you can make it through this, you won't need the medication or the alcohol..."_

It was something Colby always told him, but that was easier said than done. Besides, it wasn't like he, of all cars, would know what it was like. If Brian had known the withdrawals for liquor would be this bad, he would've never started...

He slammed a tire against the wall next to him as the anger swelled inside him. Anger for everything. Everything he had said and done that he regretted had apparently found this as the perfect time to make him suffer. Sitting there was driving him crazy, he had to leave. It was torture, absolute agony.

_"If you can hang on for a little while longer, there won't be anymore withdrawals for drinks. Trust me, I'm a doctor, I know other patients like you..."_

Those sentences repeated themselves in Brian's mind over and over again. The more they did, the more he didn't believe Colby's words. It felt like an eternity living with these symptoms; the side effects kept getting worse. "Just one drink, that's all I need..." Brian said to himself as he whimpered, pressing harder against the wall behind him. "Just one..." He pleaded.

The shaking stopped but now his tires twitched. Again he slammed a tire against the wall in an attempt to knock some sense into them so that they'd stop. It worked but his nerves were still on end, it seemed that at any moment he might jump and hit the ceiling.

He turned a heated glare towards the approaching car that was coming straight towards him. His expression loosened when he saw who it was, not meaning to seem so bitter. After all, the orange car had been here for him this whole time. A feeling of dread moved throughout him at the thought of how much wrong he was doing to him and not just the others, the two had such a broken friendship...

"What do you want, Alex?"

The Mustang cautiously inched forward. "I brought you a glass of water..."

"What for?" He asked, the only thing he could manage. There was so much Brian wanted to say but couldn't find the nerve.

The muscle car shrugged on his shocks, not looking him in the eye. "I dunno, I just thought maybe you'd want one..." Talking to his friend these days was becoming increasingly difficult. He just kept Sadie's words in his mind and hoped for the best. It had been a long time since he'd last talked to her and he could no longer find the car he used to know. Everything was so different now...

Brian sat there thinking deeply on that. He was letting him down like he knew he would. The thought of driving him away after all this was too much. He forced a small smile for him before taking the glass of water, Alex watched silently. "Thanks," He told the car before setting the empty glass beside himself.

Alex still sat there, trying to find the words to say.

Brian noticed this. "You okay?" He asked, even though it was obvious. No, of course his friend wasn't okay. He knew that, and it was all because of him...

The Mustang fidgeted on the tile floor, looking around at the white hospital walls around him. "I was just wondering if you were okay," He admitted rather quietly. He'd learned that questions like those sparked bad conversations, but he couldn't suppress how much he actually cared any longer...

"Alex, you shouldn't worry about me. I'm getting what I deserve after all these years... It's not your problem..."

But in truth it was. The muscle car nodded, looking down at the floor before him. He decided that he might as well as his question now. He wanted more than anything in life for Brian to change his mind. "You're not gonna start drinking again after you get out, are you?"

Brian wished the kid had looked him in the face during the silence that fell between them, maybe then his friend could've noticed the hurt look that he wore. He was deeply moved by the words, more than he thought he would've been.

Alex took the silence as a yes and turned to leave. The car had come so far...

Brian sighed as he watched him leave, he didn't want him to be so disappointed with the way things were going. An apology wouldn't work anymore. "Hey!" He called out to him, the racer turned back without answering. "Am I still invited to your first race? You know, when you get outta here?"

Alex breathed in deep, his hope had been far too damaged. "Only if you're sober..."

Brian sank lower to the floor as Alex continued on his way. Was he really going to throw everything away? This was a nightmare, an absolute nightmare. "You almost drank yourself to death, Brian..." He mumbled as he tipped over the glass next to him with a flip of his tire. The clank of the glass echoed for a brief moment. "Great way to go..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Streetlights every now and then shone the way that night. The cricket weren't playing, it was far too cold for them. There was no moon, only a beautiful star field above that shimmered and glistened through the clear atmosphere. Though the millions of little diamonds weren't noticed by the car who drove beneath them.

The street he drove on was empty but Dave didn't feel alone. His surroundings gave off the feeling of security and happiness, something that would've made him smile if he wasn't so nervous. It was a neighborhood much like his, only in simple form; just a little less wealthy.

He suddenly found himself at a complete loss of confidence, not sure how he ever convinced himself to travel all this way to see her. There were many things telling him this would be too much for him to handle, yet at the same time those very feelings were scolding him for having the thoughts of turning around and going home.

He'd come this far... waited this long... The only thing he had to lose was his chance of knowing the truth. Could things really work between them? His mind raced with the thoughts of seeing the beautiful car that had such an impact in his life, the one who showed him how wonderful it used to be...

After talking to James that one night he did a search on Cadence, finding not only her basic information but a few more details. Her current work status was impressive, which would explain why she'd be living in a place like this.

Dave didn't expect anything less from her, she deserved what she earned as far as he was concerned. He was glad to see she was doing well, following her dreams even if he wasn't in her life anymore. The effort she put into work was highly valued, something he had once teased Shane about.

Though that thought didn't bring a chuckle from him, his mind was completely wrapped around Cadence...

From the day he held her printed information in his tire, he knew this would change him deeply. He remembered sitting there for the longest time, staring down at it like it couldn't possibly exist. A life he thought would be gone for good was in front of him. Better days and memorable moments had filled his mind but he didn't frown, for he had something to look forward to.

Knowing he had the chance to see the love of his life again amazed him...

After that, Dave had hid the piece of paper in his nightstand and kept a copy of it in his desk at work. He looked at it occasionally whenever work was slow or when he had the chance. Giving his friends a reason as to why he had to leave wasn't the easiest, but what he was doing right now was worth so much more to him. The lie he told didn't bother his conscience.

Almost as if being powered by a stronger force, he had left them behind and drove to the interstate...

The weeks had gone by slow, incredibly slow. Each night before bed he had taken her information out and wondered if he should really do this, doubting himself more and more as the days pressed on. He counted down the days hoping this wouldn't be a mistake. That little piece of paper had sparked his imagination beyond belief.

There was no such thing as concentration for him. It had been two years since he last saw her, and recently all he could think about was her since she'd been mentioned. Now he was here in Virginia, seconds away from reaching her very home.

The closer he got the address he'd written down the more he felt sick, he was no longer in a dreamy daze as the shock of reality hit him. His eyes scanned the row of houses to the left of him, gradually slowing down. He held his breath, seeing a lovely home with the identical numbers he'd come to memorize over time.

Dave turned off his headlights, careful not to draw any attention to himself as he let this all sink in. He turned and backed up to the other edge of the road so that he was perpendicular on the street and facing her house. He parked beneath an Elm Tree that shaded over the asphalt, where he could hide in the shadows. The ground warm with the day's sun rays.

From what he could see it was a lovely home with a front lawn that seemed highly cared for. There were rounded flower bushes on the sides of the mailbox. Everything else was too dark to see, though he sat there in awe as he remembered this was_ her _house...

Granted it was late, but not that late. The lights to the house were turned off but to the left of the front door sat a very large connected window; it took up that entire side of the house. The drapes had been tied back, allowing light from within to flood out through the window and onto the front lawn, chasing away the shadows. It indicated that she most likely wasn't asleep yet. He sure hoped she wasn't.

Dave's senses went on edge as movement in the house caught his attention instantly. He kept waiting, it seemed like forever. A figure soon came into view, the black and red car he'd come to know and love was parking herself in the living room. He went weak, finding it difficult to stay strong as he sat there. He inched forward slightly and gasped quietly to himself at the sight of her.

After all this time it finally wasn't a dream... this was really her...

Cadence had turned to face the large window, picking up a book next to her on the coffee table that was by the lamp supplying the light in the room. She was flipping through the pages, trying to find where she had last left off.

Dave was scared, more scared than he thought he'd be. He couldn't bring himself to knock on the door, he could only imagine the look of shock on her face if he did. Whether she'd be happy or afraid, he didn't know, only that he couldn't find the nerve to drive up to her door and look into her golden hazel eyes again.

He realized now that he had loved her the whole time, even before their _relationship_. If anyone could call it that, but to him it had been. One that would never leave him. He didn't know how he could be so blind, so oblivious to how he felt about her the whole time. He had been so concerned with work he looked right past his feelings for her.

Cadence had been the reason work had been easy to come to. He never noticed the beauty of the situation until it was too late...

But in his mind, it was wrong to have such a relationship with a co-worker, especially being her boss at the current time. It was a code he lived by, he always felt it was the wrong thing to do...

Now he came to the conclusion that if he hadn't had that relationship with her, she would've been around longer, maybe forever. At least then he wouldn't have had to live with the pain of not seeing her ever again. He blamed himself for her leaving, not being able to see her everyday.

He could remember everything about her, almost as if he'd just seen her yesterday. Nothing about her had changed, still as beautiful as ever. That feeling of weakness hadn't gone away, he only felt more sick than he had before. A feeling he hadn't felt in a while, not since the day she had left. A feeling during the last kiss they shared, the one memory he would never let go of. Along with the last few words she had said to him.

_"Dave, I will always love you. I won't forget about you..."_

Sitting there now he could still see her saying those words. He had believed her, he really did. More than anything he wanted to know if that was still true, even if things weren't meant to be. But there was too much holding him back. What if she didn't want to see him? What if she didn't want him back in her life?

He trembled slightly in the cold, she looked liked she was happy living her life the way it was. Why should he suddenly appear? No, he couldn't create a scene, he wouldn't disturb her...

With one final long look, he sighed heavily as the pain of losing her settling on him once again. She'd never know that he attempt to contact her, even if she was hoping he would some day. Either way, he'd regret his original intentions of trying to talk to her, especially the fact he had started his engine and turned his tires back to where he came from.

Though he couldn't move, he was rooted to where he sat. He didn't want to leave, but it was for the best. There would be no more hope, only the dull feeling of rising with the sun each morning to start yet another dreadful day. The silence surrounding him was almost too much. His next sigh was rough and broken as painful emotions rose within him.

She was gone, out of his life like she had wanted... For reasons he'd never know...

With another long look he etched this moment into his memory, slowly pulling away to never return. He kept his headlights off until he was to the main road. He had to make it back home tonight, it was vital he was back in time. Because tomorrow, they were checking Brian out of the hospital. Anger wasn't present, he was numb with sorrow.

He began to think about what could have been as he began to drive away, telling himself it was over before it even started...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_I'd like to thank the ones following along. The next chapter is the last, I hope everyone has enjoyed this story so far._


	10. Chapter 10

_Before we start, I'd like to say thank you to potternutter and RacingM3GTR for reviewing; your reviews have been very encouraging. I'd also like to state that this story is dedicated to Sora and Robert: the two who made the difference. Not only were you two here for this, but through the long haul as well. Here's to you, and many more wonderful conversations. With that, here's the final chapter..._

_Disclaimer: I don't know how many of my OCs are going to be in here, but I own them. So please don't take them! Other than that, enjoy!_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**CHAPTER TEN**

The room he sat in was cold and brightly lit, something he had grown used to after a while. Though all that would change dramatically, most likely within the hour. As he questioned and mused his thoughts he kept wondering what could possibly come next in life.

Alex couldn't figure out whether or not being in that accident was good or bad. During his stay in the hospital, his opinions had changed several different times. For a while there was nothing to look forward to, and he knew there was one other car besides himself who felt the same way.

He sighed miserably, things still hadn't changed between him and Brian. It was like starting over again with a horrible twist...

Now the only things left were memories, something he usually smiled about when thinking back on them. He realized now there would be no more good times of pulling pranks on innocent hospital staff or planning revenge on prick doctors. All that just seemed to fade away and now he really did feel completely alone.

He never thought he'd see the day where those memories made him sad, never in his life had he been faced with such a thing. These ones sat in a category all to themselves, locked away so that he couldn't build off them anymore. Almost forcing him to keep moving as he begged to go back and save them from despair.

Alex took his time waking up that morning, for there was no need to rush. He observed the room around him, the place he'd spent the last two months living. He wouldn't miss being here, not like he thought he would. There was the slight nervous feeling of panic as he realized something else, today was the day he'd be checking out of the hospital.

Since no one could check him out, he'd do so himself.

He slowly got to his tires and steadied himself, sighing sadly as he turned on his engine. He waited for the odd noise it usually gave off, but it never came. His engine was better than before; it felt entirely new. In the beginning he couldn't wait to start racing, once again feel the night's breeze as he rushed by. Though now, those thoughts hardly brought a smile.

The muscle car's idling engine echoed loudly as he sat there alone. He looked to the right, taking one last gaze at the air vent and the little grate that started it all. Was everything really coming to an end? He couldn't help but think that he didn't try hard enough.

Alex let off his brakes and allowed himself to roll forward. For what ever reason, something was stopping him from easing onto the accelerator. He forced himself to continue, knowing the sooner he left here the better off he'd be. There was still one more thing he had to do before he drove out the Freedom Doors.

His choice of hallway was taking him directly to the recovery floor.

Once there, he pushed his way through the large double doors, instantly seeing the car he wanted to talk to. Brian was sitting across the room facing the windows, watching the city like he normally did. There was no one else around him, only his reflection. It was extremely quiet that morning, the conversations around him were hushed.

The Mustang began to drive forward, slowly making his way to the green car who seemed so lost. He thought he'd known him well, though the outcomes of their many conversations told him he knew nothing about him except his personality. There had been so much involved, now he was seconds away from knowing whether or not Brian would change his ways for the better.

Alex shut off his engine and glided to a stop behind his friend, sitting there silently. He waited to see if the green car would say something or even acknowledge his presence. Like predicted, he received nothing. He knew he'd have to be more brave than him.

"Brian?" He asked, his tone soft and quiet. The car tensed regardless. "I don't know if you remembered, but today's my last day here..."

Brian sank lower on his shocks, rolling his eyes at the depressing situation he was confronted with. Of _course_ he remembered, how could he forget such a thing? He'd been more than apprehensive about it ever since Alex last told him. It was one of his biggest fears, and all he wanted right now was more time. He desperately wished to turn around and talk to him, but too much was stopping him.

He wouldn't let himself be in that car's life anymore...

Alex never mentioned those special photographs or that conversation between him and Sadie to Brian. That was something he'd keep to himself for as long as he lived, and he felt so honored she actually told him. Trying to fix what was broken seemed impossible at the moment, though in the back of his mind all wasn't lost. "I just came here to tell you that, that I'm not mad at you."

Brian suppressed his will to respond, closing his eyes tightly. Listening to him was torture, he should've never have let it come down to this...

"I know you don't wanna talk to me," Alex said, continuing. "But I was just wondering if I could get a goodbye." He watched sadly as Brian shifted away from him completely. He swallowed hard and nodded to himself before switching into reverse. "I understand, Brian," He said, backing away. Seeing him do that had been a disappointment beyond compare.

The car was turned towards the sun and Alex was able to catch a glimpse of Brian's pain through his reflection. His friend was staring down at his hood with a remorse he'd never seen before. It was incredibly shocking, all he could do was stare in disbelief. Why he was doing this to himself, Alex thought he'd never understand.

He took his time turning around to leave, checking his mirrors on his way to the exit of the recovery floor, hoping Brian would rethink his decision. Hesitantly, he pushed his way through the double doors and down the hall. Nothing suggested that his attempts to help had any effect, much less had his compassionate and caring nature seem to bring back any hope for his friend.

He'd have to accept this for what it really was...

Alex made his way into the lobby, driving over the main desk. He parked in front of it, waiting to be assisted. He forced a smile when the nurse came to greet him. "Hey," He said rather plain. His gaze dropped to the desk. "If you're not too busy, I'm here to check out..."

The nurse gave him a skeptical look, that didn't sound like the car she knew. She was used to the guy who made her smile on the worst of days. She'd never know that his sunny and unique disposition had been tainted. He, too, had been changed from all this. As she was pulling out his file, she noticed his upset features through the corner of her vision.

"You know," She said, driving back over to him. "Most patients aren't sad when they leave a hospital..."

He smirked as a few forms were placed in front of him. "Well," He started, taking a pen as he began to sign his name. "After all this, you should know I'm not most patients..." He listened to her cute little laugh as he moved onto the last paper. Almost regrettably, he signed it as well. The Mustang put down the pen and looked up at her, sliding the forms back. "You stay sweet, alright?"

The nurse placed them back into the folder, closing the cabinet drawer. "And you stay out of trouble..."

Alex remembered the favor he'd been granted. Like Brennard had promised, his illegal street racing charges had been cleared. At least that was something he didn't have to deal with once he drove out those doors for good. "Yes, ma'am," He said before turning around. He felt anxious as he neared the exit.

As the Freedom Doors opened, a gust of cold wind caught him by surprise. He was amazed by what he was greeted with as he drove outside. He braked and surveyed his surroundings, he forgot how long he'd been in the hospital; now the seasons had changed. The noise and sights of the city seemed so strange to him, it felt entirely new.

It had been a long time since he'd felt asphalt underneath his tires and smelled something other than the sterile atmosphere within. There were no more white wash walls or rows of blinding lights, all that had been replaced with a world he'd been eager to see again...

He looked at the cars near him, the street in front of him was completely backed up with traffic. It was that very reason why he hated the city; there was no room to run, almost no freedom. His life was not here, he had to leave and escape this place. Even with that in mind he still had no particular destination he wanted to go.

The Mustang decided he was going to give racing a break, it was time he started doing something important in his life that could promise_ the bright future _Brian had been talking about...

Alex glanced down at his fender with disapproval. He'd have to go to the body shop and get someone to finish the small details on his left front fender that still weren't smoothed. While he was there he'd be getting a new coat of orange. The more he thought on it, he'd be getting the number 74 taken off his doors as well.

He'd miss that part of his identity more than his reputation. He could rebuild that later if he wanted, and he knew there was probably someone new in town who hadn't heard just how good of a racer he was. Maybe someday he'd put that car in his place.

Another cold wind hit the side of his chassis as he remembered the details of his life. He shuddered against the chill once he realized he was literally starting over. He had ended his racing career with Gunner, it was over. He never thought he'd face the fact that racing wasn't an option, even after everything he'd accomplished.

Alex was more than sure Gunner was gone, to pursue the life of professional racing he wanted so badly. The car had always said there was nothing in this town for him, and now there really wasn't; they were no longer friends. If that navy blue Mustang had left, Alex was glad to know he was following his dreams, even if he_ did _regret all those things he'd said to him.

Alex gritted his teeth and revved his engine against the cold. This was it, he was starting over. With a long sigh, he took the first chance he got and merged into traffic...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sun was setting, and fast. The world outside the hospital continued to grow darker and darker as Brian sat in his room, watching the cars on the streets many floors below his small pitiful window. For two months, out of the five he'd been in here, he watched life progress without him. Just a reminder of the fact he'd screwed over yet another chance to do better.

For a moment the green car was happy that he wasn't able to see the sunset, that way he didn't have to actually see how much more time he had until he was out of here. It set in the west, and his side of the hospital faced the Atlantic Ocean. Though he couldn't see the thing that made him feel content, it being blocked off by the many buildings the city supported.

With a frustrated sigh Brian quickly turned away from the window. He was so nervous, so worried. Anxiety was taking its toll on him as he wondered where his friends were. What was taking them so long to check him out? His thoughts ventured to the possibility that maybe Dave had purposely convinced everyone to wait until now.

Dave. That thought sent a chill through his crankshaft. He was going to face Dave, it didn't get much worse than that. At least when Alex had been here, he didn't have to think about what was to come when he finally got released from here. Though now, there was no point in thinking about that friendship. He'd ended that as well, like he planned all along.

Though today wasn't just the day he was out of here for good, today was also the day he could soothe his withdrawals...

Guilt and regret swelled inside of him as he thought about the others. Soon, fear replaced both of them as his thoughts returned to Dave. Brian started pacing around his room the more it dwelled inside his mind. No matter how much he tried it seemed impossible to escape the inevitable.

Thankfully, his thoughts soon jumped to Sadie. There was a reassuring memory that brought out a sigh of relief from him. He hadn't missed his and Sadie's anniversary, and knowing that helped his hope ever so slightly. He didn't know what he'd do if he missed it.

Brian sank lower on his shocks, flinching at the cold touch of the tile floor. He closed his eyes, finally finding peace in the situation.

Although the door to his room had been pushed open slowly, it didn't stop him from quickly spinning around in surprise to see who it was. "Yes?" He asked before he could even recognize the car. It was Colby, his doctor. The expression on the other's face was almost un-readable, though he took a guess. "Time to go?"

The doctor nodded in response and turned to leave, Brian eagerly followed. They silently drove side by side down the main hallway as they neared the lobby. Colby's psychologically detached attitude had always been the reason why he felt so annoyed by him.

Brian glanced over at his doctor, seeing this as the best time to speak up. He'd never told him how much he appreciated all his hard work. "There's something I've been meaning to say," He started, matching the car's speed. Colby lazily looked over, giving his soon to be ex-patient his attention. "I just wanted to say thank you, for everything you did."

Colby's expression hardly changed as Brian waited for a response. He only tilted his frame away so he could better regard him. "You're waiting until _now _to thank me?" Brian nodded as they both maneuvered past a couple of nurses. Colby sighed and pressed his speed higher. "You're welcome," He said, pushing his way through the double doors of the lobby.

Brian slammed on his brakes as the doors hit his grille. Regaining his senses, he suddenly became scared. Beyond those doors, his friends were waiting for him. He drew a ragged breath before he continued, slowly pushing his way out into the lobby.

Almost immediately he saw his friends sitting across the room, all five of them were parked next to each other. He sat there in astonishment, the last time he'd seen them all together seemed like too long ago. He couldn't help but smile back when he saw Sadie's sweet and loving expression. Laura looked like she was ready to bolt over to him; she couldn't keep still. He could tell that James and Mason were hiding just how happy they really were.

As he looked down the row of cars, he instantly lost his smile as he saw who was on the end. Dave sat slightly away from the others, not even looking in the same direction as them. With a fixed glare he focused on something else to avoid being brought into their joyful little reunion. While they were happy to see this day finally come, Dave had reason to loathe.

Brian glanced down at the floor in shame. Not once did the car come to see him during his stay here in the hospital. Though he didn't blame him...

He looked over to the front desk, something caught his attention. Colby was beckoning him to come over as he pulled out his hospital record. With a tire, Brian motioned for the others to follow. Soon they had formed a circle around him as they reached the front desk. Their presence was warm and welcoming, for a split second he felt content.

Fear filled Brian for the second time that day as he saw the maroon car approaching, his pace was steady and firm while he drove across the room towards the front desk. Though he stood strong, turning to face him. He steadied himself and breathed in deep the closer Dave got, preparing himself for any confrontation he might want. He could only wish he was as brave as he appeared.

But nothing came, no strike or hit. Not even a word.

Dave drove right past him, turning towards the front desk where Colby placed a few papers in front of him. The doctor completely dismissed the horrible vibe the room suddenly had as he sorted a few other files. The maroon car quickly picked up the nearest pen and began to sign the papers, he was intent on getting out of this damn hospital for good.

Just as he brought the pen to the first paper, his movements slowed. He knew that Brian was sitting behind him, but that wasn't what he noticed. This caused his expression to loosen. There wasn't, for the first time in a long time, the scent of liquor surrounding Brian. And in that brief moment, Dave could remember the car he once knew. When times were good, all those years ago.

There was an uneasy silence as the others wondered what was wrong. With his back towards them, they couldn't tell.

Brian thought he should say something, even though the maroon car obviously held a deep hatred for him right now. It was no longer just the wall between them, but the wrong he'd done all these years. His mouth tried to form words as he searched on what to say to him. It was more difficult than he expected. He breathed in deep before he spoke. "Dave--"

"Not a word," Dave commanded as he slammed the pen down.

Brian sat there in silence, it hadn't occurred to him until just now that maybe his friendship with him wasn't able to be fixed. He wanted to try, to know if all was lost. Though he did as he was told, waiting for Dave to finish signing the papers. He turned towards the others with a sigh, shrugging like the animosity between him and Dave didn't hurt as bad.

The other four looked at each other, they were afraid of this happening.

Sadie drove closer, kissing him slowly and deeply. She pulled away and looked into his eyes, giving him a reassuring look even though what Alex had told her was still running through her mind. She knew her husband well, and the small smile he wore was fading quickly. She tried her best to show she still believed in him.

The teal car backed away slightly as Laura pulled up next Brian, nuzzling his fender. "Ready to finally be home?" She asked, smiling.

Brian wasn't sure whether or not to answer. It seemed like a trick question, he didn't know if he'd be better off here at the hospital or back at the mansion. All he could do was smile and nod in return. Somehow, he had the feeling it was going to be a very long night.

James gave Dave his space as he pulled up in front of Brian. "We're all gonna go back to the mansion, I hope you don't mind staying there for a couple of days." He could see in the other's eyes that he knew their intentions. They all wanted to spend time with him, this was the only way. Sadly, James watched Brian swallow hard in response.

Their attention was brought back to Dave as the maroon car threw the pen down on the desk. Everyone watched as he proceeded to turn around, James quickly backed up, swerving out of his way just in time. Dave gave him an aggressive look before turning a heated glare towards Brian, who rolled back in shock. "Sign the papers so we can leave."

Brian cautiously moved his way past Dave, keeping a close eye on the nerve wrecked car beside him. He sighed, trying to get comfortable. He looked down at the papers, each one of Dave's signatures had been brutally inscribed on the documents. In a swift manner, the green car signed what was required.

The six turned to leave just as Sadie signed the last paper. For the first time in five months, Brian was able to drive through the Freedom Doors like he'd been wanting to do. The last one to exit, he stared at everything around him. Life seemed different; surreal.

It took him a moment to realize that the others were already leaving. He quickly caught up to them, finding himself just in front of Dave. He exhaled sharply, knowing there was no way this was going to end well. He kept checking his mirrors, only to see a threatening stare.

Once out of the inner city, Brian began to relax as he studied the world around him. He took in the feel of how his tires gripped the asphalt he drove, and the way the breeze moved the palm trees and oaks of South Carolina. He could now see what was left of the sunset. Its last few rays made the surrounding clouds a dull red, blending in with the night's purple.

The streets they traveled on had a fair amount of traffic moving with them and away. Though to Brian, they felt distant. As they came to a stop at a red light, he could no longer hear the sound of everyone else's engines as he looked into his side view mirror again.

This time, Dave noticed Brian and pinned a heavy glare directly at him. Brian quickly looked away, thinking maybe that the maroon car was waiting for the right time to unleash his rage on just how upset he was with him. The more they sat there at the red light, the more Brian became nervous. He sat there completely still; solid as stone.

To his relief, they began moving again. Traffic picked up pace as he remembered the roads they were on. Home was only two miles away, two agonizing miles...

Brian was glad to see the rich fancy neighborhood he'd known all his life, the drive here was enough to make him paranoid. The streetlights came on just as darkness consumed him; he was eager to get out of the cold and into a cozy bedroom where he could sleep. That way he wouldn't have to deal with anyone, at least not until the next day.

He kept wondering whether or not they'd spare him the agony of questions tonight. If they really knew how he felt it was more than likely they'd leave him alone. Then again, maybe they'd try to escape the awkward silence and fill the room with conversation. Either way, he'd find out soon enough.

The six of them pulled into the driveway of Dave's mansion. James was first to make his way through the front door, he held it open for everyone else until they were inside. They were greeted with the warmth from within, dispersing to various sections throughout the large living room as they settle down.

Brian looked the place over again, it felt so nice to be back home, yet so tense. There was too much to worry about, he didn't think anything could help him relax now that he was here. It was Sadie's touch that brought him out of his thoughts. He looked to his side, seeing her concerned expression.

"You look tired," She said quietly. "Did you wanna go to bed?"

The green car gave his wife a questioning look, he couldn't figure out if she was hinting towards a way for him to leave with a good excuse or being considerate. "Yeah, I'm actually really tired," He told her, truthfully. "You wouldn't mind if I did, would you?"

Sadie shook her hood and kissed his fender. "No, I don't. You go ahead, I'll be there soon myself..."

Brian wasn't hesitant in leaving. He drove down the hall without a word and made an immediate left, driving into his room. He turned around and shut the door, the silence was a deafening return. With a hollow sigh he drove across the room to where he normally slept, dropping his chassis to the soft rug beneath him. It was comforting, to say the least.

Letting go of his thoughts, he began to close his eyes.

Just as the golden light from the lamp beside him was blackening out, he was startled awake by the opening of the bedroom door. Sadie was driving through the doorway. He could barely hear the click of the door as it was shut. "I told you I'd be here soon," She said, making her way over to him.

Brian smiled as he felt Sadie pull up beside him. He glanced down to his right, watching her lean into him and become comfortable. The feelings he had were almost indescribable, he couldn't believe he was back in his own room with the love of his life by his side. He was truly happy, almost content. There was a sudden urge to shout his joy.

"You ready for bed?" He asked, and he felt her nod silently against him. With that, he pulled the lamp's cord. Darkness surrounded him, but for once there wasn't the awful feeling of being completely alone anymore...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There was silence throughout the house that night, everyone had gone to bed hours before. Brian lay awake with Sadie peacefully asleep next to him breathing steadily, though he wanted to hear that for an entirely different reason. His self-made plans had kept him up, begging him to get this done.

Without turning on his engine he moved across the room towards the door under his own power, careful not to wake his wife. Very quietly, he unlocked the door and pushed his way through. For a second, he turned back and looked into his bedroom. A feeling of guilt weighed heavy on him as he stared at her sleeping form.

Though he turned back around, this was a force he couldn't stop...

He was met by more silence as he listened for any signs someone else might be awake. Feeling that it was safe to proceed, he made his way down the hallway. He was careful not to wake anyone, no one needed to be alerted of his movement.

The hardwood floor beneath his tires was cold, but that didn't matter. Brian was too worried about being caught to notice just how chilly it was. He continued on his way down the first hall, slowly driving past the living room and towards the second hallway.

The green car came to a complete stop at the end of the hall and turned to face two large oak doors. It was the entrance to the entertainment room, a place that had held numerous parties and served many more drinks. Inside was a liquor cabinet that could put any bar to shame. It was massive, and it had everything Brian needed.

With that in mind, Brian didn't waste anymore time sitting outside the doors. He made his way through them, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness he was presented with. He drove over to the window and pulled back the drapes to let some moonlight in.

He never noticed the still, silent form that sat in the corner. Waiting.

A huge grin arose on the car's face as he turned to the cabinet. The possibilities were endless, and he had all night to satisfy his withdrawals. It was right here, he could have it. Nothing was holding him back. He shook violently for a moment as he reached for a glass, though it quickly passed as he tried one of the doors.

He dropped the glass and gasped as a brutal force collided with his side, but it was too late to react as he attacker shoved him up against the wall. Caught off guard, the impact knocked the breath out of him. Frantically, he tried to escape his sudden situation.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" The car demanded, shoving him harder into the wall.

"Dave?" Brian choked, finding it difficult to breathe. He struggled to get free, trying all he could to somehow loosen the grip that the maroon car had on him. "Why are you doing this?"

It was an even match of strength though Dave wouldn't let him get away. With all the force he had, he kept him there. "You selfish prick!" He revved his engine, surging forward ever so slightly. The sound of a chassis beginning to crumple made Brian extremely aware of the fact that he wasn't kidding. The car only put up more of a fight to get away.

"Please, Dave, I know you're mad but try to--"

"You have no idea what you've done!" Dave yelled through gritted teeth, his grille continued to intensify Brian's pain.

Brian was getting desperate, there was nothing he could do to escape Dave's hold. The car's fury was a force beyond belief, something that couldn't be broken. He tried to catch his breath as Dave began to lift him off the ground gradually with each inch he shoved.

His mind screamed with the thoughts Dave might crush him, the car certainly had every right to. "Please," He begged. "Let's talk about this!" Pleading was all he knew at this point, anything was better than the increasing pain. He knew he'd been caught in the act of something that should've been stopped long ago.

"Talk?!" Dave boomed, once again crushing the car between the wall and himself. He watched Brian wince in pain, it only added fuel to the fire. "All I've ever _done _is talk to you, but that _never _worked! I've wasted my time trying to talk to you! I should've know better than to take you in and make sure you had the better life! I'm sick of talking, you've wasted our lives with this!"

Brian glanced to the side, trying hard to see Dave's face. The room was dark but it didn't hide the rage Dave's eyes emitted. The hatred in the other's voice was unbearable, panic began to set in. "Dave," He pleaded. "I just wanted one drink--"

The maroon car pushed him up against the wall, lifting him off the ground completely upon hearing that. "You think I'm doing this just because you wanted _one _drink?! I'm not talking about tonight, you bastard, I'm talking about everything! It's always been just one drink! But you know what? One drink always leads to another!"

Brian's tires went limp beneath him as Dave's words sunk into him, hurting.

"So you think I'm just gonna sit there and let you do this all over again?! Let you do this to everyone?!" Dave's right front tire blew as he finally ran over the glass Brian had in his tire moments before. The initial boom sounded like a cannon, though he doubted that was the reason for what happened next.

The light to the entertainment room flicked on for the first time. Brian once again struggled to get free, but Dave only dropped him to the ground with a painful thud.

Furious, the maroon car turned to leave at a brisk pace; he didn't care what they'd heard. The four cars in the doorway quickly moved out of his way. James followed him out the door, soon an argument between the two could be heard from down the hall.

"No, no don't-- don't talk to me!"

There was a series of thrown curses before the startling slam of a door. Horrified, Brian stared back at the three remaining cars still in the room with him. They all turned back to look at him, waiting for something to be said. Though he couldn't respond, he was rendered speechless. Trembling silently, he replayed Dave's words over and over again in his mind.

The three stared numbly at Brian, looking at his battered exterior. Crushed glass was scattered on the floor, a drape lay loosely behind the car. Hadn't their support been enough? Their love and friendship towards him counted for anything?

Brian watched their expressions continue to grow in disappointment and sadness. Their words were hidden but the silence spoke volumes. He desperately wanted them to be proud of him; more than anything else in the world. No, no they weren't the failures, he wished they'd understand.

He sighed sadly as the three cars retreated back to their bedrooms, leaving him there alone. The car took this time to examine the horrible damage Dave had inflicted on him by looking through a broken mirror. His right side was dented considerably. He appeared to be going back to visit Colby sooner than he thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_FIN_


End file.
